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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28373862">How to Mentor a Troubled Ghost Child</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bodingly/pseuds/Ectopal'>Ectopal (bodingly)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>we all have things to learn [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Danny Phantom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, badger cereal, mentoring fic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:56:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>23,068</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28373862</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bodingly/pseuds/Ectopal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>He and Daniel aren’t just accidents, aren’t just freaks anymore. They’re a species, and Vlad doesn’t want to spend the rest of their unnatural lives fighting over a mistake he made. He’ll find a way to make it work. He’ll earn Daniel’s trust and he’ll make it work.</p><p>“God, this is ridiculous,” Vlad mutters to himself. “And it’s not going to work.”</p><p>But when had an obsession ever listened to reason?<br/>——————<br/>Vlad decides he's going to do his best to be the mentor Danny deserves.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Danny Fenton &amp; Vlad Masters</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>we all have things to learn [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2249937</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>134</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>574</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Ground</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/solsock/gifts">solsock</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi Solsock! You were my 2020 Holiday Truce. I picked the prompt: Vlad mentoring Danny, Badger Cereal. Hope you like it, I had a lot of fun writing it :)</p><p>Two things:</p><p>1. Some of these events are out of order but I still managed to write a more emotionally fulfilling story than Bitch Fartman so I don't regret anything</p><p>2. There are a few links I put that are completely not necessary to open while reading. They include several links to pretentious essays I wrote in high school, a delicious pasta recipe, and the link to an article that inspired this fic. Just a few little easter eggs I threw in there</p><p>Follow me @ ectopal on tumblr for Danny Phantom content and to hang out :D</p><p>edited 3/22/2021 for minor grammatical errors/spelling mistakes/issues with sentence flow. If you see anything else that seems weird, please don't hesitate to let me know and I'll take a look to see if I agree. </p><p>I read comments whenever I get emailed about them, so thank you very much to everyone who has reached out so far and to future readers intent on doing so as well. Everyone's response was so wonderful that I'm going to work on a sequel :D</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Daniel’s aim is off center.</p><p>They’re playing cat and mouse—well, <em>Vlad’s</em> playing cat and mouse; Daniel is doing everything in his power to shoot Vlad square out of the sky above Axion Labs, but hasn’t quite managed it yet.</p><p>It’s…sort of painful for Vlad to watch, if he’s being honest. Daniel’s fourteen, clearly not getting enough sleep, and biting off way more he can chew in terms of taking responsibility for Amity Park’s safety. Vlad doesn’t think he’s eating enough either, but it’s another opinion in a growing list that he keeps to himself.</p><p>It’s only been a few weeks since The Reunion, as Vlad has taken to capitalizing it in his mind. He’d actually been scoping out Axion’s long-term viability to see if it would be worth the hostile takeover when he’d sensed another ghost nearby. There hadn’t been an intention of engaging with Daniel tonight, but the child had found him and forced the issue, nonetheless.</p><p>Daniel had been chatty the first minute or so they fought, asking Vlad what he was doing ‘snooping around’ Amity Park, but when a green ectoplasm beam had gotten a bit too close for Vlad’s comfort, he’d ramped up the offense, and Daniel had fallen silent as he tried to match his older counterpart blow for blow. It was clear even now that he was tiring, and the <strike>parental</strike> logical part of Vlad reminded him that it <em>was</em> a school night, and Daniel probably needed to get some kind of rest tonight.</p><p>“Tell me Daniel,” Vlad says as he knocks the ectoblast Daniel shoots his way aside like it was a paper airplane, “what did you hope to accomplish with this little encounter?”</p><p>“Stopping <em>you</em> from messing with <em>my</em> town,” Daniel says, and Vlad can’t help but notice the note of possessiveness in his voice.</p><p>“Oh, <em>your</em> town?” Vlad asks haughtily. “I hadn’t realized you’d claimed it. You…<em>have</em> claimed it, haven’t you, little badger?”</p><p>Vlad knows the answer. Daniel’s presence is all over Amity, but there’s no sense of ownership attached to it. Any ghost worth their salt feels that Amity, despite Daniel’s protests, is still fair game. With access to a portal, it’s also <em>valuable</em> game, and Vlad knows that there is absolutely no way that Daniel would know any of this. It took Vlad several years of research in the ghost zone to finally stumble on that particular bit of knowledge, and Daniel doesn’t have the time to explore like he did.</p><p>“Amity’s <em>mine</em>, Plasmius!” Daniel growls, but the declaration lacks the intention needed to make the statement <em>true</em>. Daniel aims another beam at him, and again, his aim is off center. As Vlad bats it away again, Daniel comes in close, fist drawn back and aimed square at his face. This close, Vlad can see the frustration in his eyes. He can also see the dark circles lining them. “Get out of here if you know what’s good for you!”</p><p>Vlad does some quick mental math; it’s almost eleven. It’s time he sent his little nemesis home. He could easily come back tomorrow when Daniel was in school; under cover of darkness had been a personal preference, nothing more.</p><p>“I suppose with you here to pull the alarm, ‘snooping around’ isn’t feasible tonight, is it?” Plasmius pretends to muse. “Fine then Daniel; consider this a victory. But don’t think you’ve foiled me forever, hm?”</p><p>Daniel glares and—oh, there are his scary eyes again.</p><p>“If I see you again around here, you’ll be sorry,” Daniel threatens.</p><p>Vlad nods, trying to convey that he thinks it’s a <em>very</em> good threat and that he’s <em>very</em> scared of the child in front of him. Daniel growls and aims another ectoblast his way. It pulls slightly to the left, just like the others.</p><p>“Oh yes, look at me, shaking in my boots!” Plasmius taunts. “Try that one again when your aim is centered, little badger.”</p><p>“Wh—”</p><p>Vlad cuts him off with his best Evil Laugh and teleports before Daniel can try to beat answers out of him that won’t come.</p><p>He doesn’t go far, just out of Daniel’s range. He can hear a quiet sigh of relief, followed by a curse as Daniel realizes that he’s out well passed curfew. Vlad follows behind at a leisurely pace as his arch-enemy races home. Vlad watches out of pure curiosity as Daniel morphs back into his human form in the shadows on the side of his home before he sprints up the stairs, clearly out of breath. He puts the key in the lock as quietly as possible and tip toes in—</p><p>“Danny Fenton, just <em>what</em> do you think you’re doing, coming home <em>this </em>late?”</p><p>The lights flick on, and Vlad turns human to hide from Daniel’s ghost sense. He’s invisible now, and watches the scene unfold before him.</p><p>Maddie is the one who caught him this time. Vlad momentarily forgets why he’s here as he sees the object of his affection before him. As always, she’s beautiful, even with her lips pulled back into a thin line and a chip on her shoulder. Perfect, resplendent, ethereal no matter the situation.</p><p>Vlad tunes in again as she’s sternly telling Daniel that he’s grounded for the next week for violating his parents’ trust. She asks if he’s finished his chores—Vlad knows the answer is no; Daniel has been fighting ghosts every spare minute he has—and adds another week to his punishment as he looks at his feet.</p><p>Daniel takes the whole thing about as gracefully as a teenager could, and Vlad thinks that in his place, he’d probably blown up at how unfair the situation was. Daniel just nods when she asks if he understands and moves past her to go to bed—</p><p>“We’re not done yet, young man,” Maddie says sharply. There’s a tension in Daniel’s shoulders as he freezes at the base of the staircase. Vlad watches as his shoulders drop, and he turns. It’s…not how he’s used to seeing the teen.</p><p>“Yeah, mom?” he asks tentatively. It's clear he knows what is coming and wants to avoid it.</p><p>“Mr. Lancer called me again today,” Maddie says, arms crossed. “He told me you’re failing English.”</p><p>Daniel snorts before he thinks better of it.</p><p>“And <em>what</em> is so funny about that?” Maddie asks, the promise of retribution clear in her tone.</p><p>“Nothing, mom,” Daniel is quick to placate. “Sorry.”</p><p>Maddie approaches her son, resting a hand on his shoulder. She doesn’t notice him stifle a flinch—Vlad remembers that Daniel had taken a pretty heavy fall square on that shoulder only minutes before and winces.</p><p>“Danny, you’re worrying me,” Maddie says. “This isn’t like you. My baby boy doesn’t skip class—”</p><p>Daniel shrugs her hand off.</p><p>“Mom, I just wasn’t feeling good—”</p><p>“—and he doesn’t <em>lie</em> to me about it, either!” Maddie interrupts him, and Daniel deflates. Vlad can see that brushing her hand off had exposed a bruise crawling its way up his neck, but Maddie either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care to comment. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately, but right now, you’re acting like a kid I’ve never met. When is the Danny I love coming back?”</p><p>Vlad stifles a noise, and Daniel flinches. He looks at Maddie like she’s slapped him. He doesn’t say anything, doesn’t even look at her.</p><p>“'M tired,” Daniel says, clearly holding something back. Maddie sighs.</p><p>“Don’t think this conversation is over, young man,” Maddie says softly. Daniel nods, and as Maddie turns, he’s already halfway up the stairs and in his room.</p><p>Vlad frowns as Maddie sighs deeply.</p><p>“What are we going to do with you, Danny?” she mutters to herself. “Where did we go wrong?”</p><p>Vlad hears a rugged inhale from upstairs and thinks that Daniel’s hearing is probably already sharp enough to catch any word whispered in this house.</p><p>Vlad watches as she paces for a bit and sighs deeply.</p><p>“Shit,” Vlad says to himself, because there are no impressionable young nemeses around to hear him. Suddenly, he’s feeling every one of his forty years. “<em>He’s hurt</em>, Maddie.”</p><p>Above him, he hears another shuddering breath, and decides he’s heard more than enough for tonight.</p><p>Maddie eventually sighs and retires to her room. As she goes, so does Vlad. Some part of him thinks as he flies that perhaps Maddie isn’t quite as beautiful as Vlad had first thought, all those years ago.</p>
<hr/><p>Vlad’s got a house in Amity. It was a purely tactical decision, and in times like these when he didn’t want to announce he wasn’t in Wisconsin, it served him well. It was well kept, but sparsely stocked. There were probably more ghost deterrents in the house than cans of edible food. It was perfect for overnight ventures like this one, and it's where he goes to regroup.</p><p>(He had bought it years ago on a whim in the midst of a dramatic episode, but no one needed to know <em>that</em> little detail.)</p><p>He pulls out his laptop, intent on getting some work done, but finds he can’t concentrate.</p><p>With a sigh, he decides to turn in early. Sleep doesn’t come easy, and when it eventually arrives, it’s as fitful and sporadic as always.</p>
<hr/><p>Vlad wakes up in the middle of the night.</p><p>He’s been restless for hours, tossing and turning, barely able to close his eyes as the conversation he overheard loops over and over in his mind. He doesn’t want to think about the implications of what he overheard, knows that it’ll open a whole can of worms he doesn’t really want to touch, but he can’t help but extrapolate from the encounter he’d witnessed.</p><p>Daniel is failing classes. Daniel is skipping school. Daniel is coming home late and his parents don’t notice his injuries. Daniel can’t tell his parents why any of this is happening, because he doesn’t know what they’ll do if they <em>know</em> his secret. Daniel overhears everything his parents say, no matter how quiet they think they’re being. Daniel overhears…</p><p>
  <em>“What are we going to do with you, Danny?” Maddie mutters to herself. “Where did we go wrong?”</em>
</p><p>Daniel overhears things no child should hear their parents say.</p><p>Vlad is wide awake now. He sits up and leans on the backboard before he gets a crick in his neck.</p><p>This kind of thinking is unproductive. Daniel had already turned down a very generous offer of help. The boy was just reaping what he’d sown, and <em>that</em> wasn’t on Vlad. Sure, Vlad had given him a hard bargain, but offering him a mentor, offering him protection and guidance and resources, without some kind of guarantee that Daniel would stick around after he’d gotten what he’d wanted? <em>That</em> would have been madness.</p><p>Vlad can’t help but question why Daniel doesn’t leave his parents’ home, if he’s as unhappy as he seems with them. Why does he defend them when it’s clear they’re mad at him? When they’re a very large source of the frustration and fear he’s currently grappling with?</p><p>He wonders that if their situations were reversed, he would make the same choices Daniel has. Would Vlad have turned down the chance to get out of his backwater little town that fit him like a shirt three sizes too small? Would Vlad have chosen to stay with a small, unhappy little family that worked too long and too hard to pay bills that were well past due? Would Vlad have left behind the few people he could stand to go live with a virtual stranger, who promised a new life if only he razed everything he once held dear to the ground?</p><p>It occurs to him, as he compares his childhood to Daniel’s, that they really aren’t so different, in the grand scheme of things.</p><p>Vlad fights the realization every step of the way. He doesn’t <em>want</em> to be wrong. His offer <em>should</em> have been enough for Daniel. Having a wealthy, affluent, powerful person with knowledge and experience you could only dream of offer you a place by their side, to learn everything you could ever want to know? It was a damn near universal dream, to get scooped into the lap of luxury and be offered the kinds of things he had offered the child.</p><p>The issue, Vlad thinks bitterly, is that Daniel is fundamentally a better person than Vlad is. Ghost powers or not, Daniel would have heard the offer to leave everything he holds dear behind and laughed himself silly. At his age, Vlad would have too, maybe not for the same reasons, but for reasons that were as ironclad and impossible to shake as Daniel’s were.</p><p>The issue, Vlad thinks as he stares at the stars between the gap in the curtains by his bed, is that he’d said everything to Daniel that <em>Vlad</em> had wanted to hear after <em>his</em> accident. Parents long gone, friends in the wind, no prospects, face ruined beyond imagine…after college, Vlad hadn’t even <em>dreamed</em> that anyone would want anything to do with him. He worked so hard because there hadn’t been anything else to do. He’d lied and schemed and bribed and cheated because he hadn’t thought there could be any other way to achieve what he’d wanted. And now that he had everything someone could possibly achieve, money and power and prestige and connections…he found that they were nothing more than a means to an end that Vlad <em>still</em> hadn’t managed to find for himself.</p><p>(Vlad knows about ghostly obsessions. Knows that they define what a ghost is, how they interact with the world. Knows intimately well what his obsession is, is bitter with the knowledge that ever since he got his powers, he’s <strike>feared</strike> hated empty houses, barren dinner tables, and clear schedules in measures Vlad Masters pre-accident would have found extreme.)</p><p>Vlad has waited so long for the perfect family. He’d never considered that he might actually have to work for it.</p><p>And <em>about</em> his perfect family…he’d spent so long pining after Maddie, he’s beginning to realize that he’d forgotten who she was. Time had changed her, like it had changed Vlad and like it changed everyone else. She was still beautiful, still intelligent, but…she wasn’t unfailing. And watching her interact with Daniel tonight, Vlad could so easily see himself in his young counterpart’s shoes, and it made him feel…</p><p>She wasn’t what Daniel needed right now, or at least, she wasn’t <em>everything</em> he needed. And, If he was truly being honest with himself…a married woman with two children who had never really given him the time of day outside of their friendship might not be what <em>he</em> needed right now, either.</p><p>The thought burns through him, <em>literally</em> burns through him as his core flairs up like a bad case of heartburn. He’d always heard that obsessions were tricky, that they could shift and fluctuate at the drop of the hat. He’d always been so certain of what he wanted that he never seriously considered trying to want something else, and what might happen to his ghost half when he did.</p><p>He just knows he doesn’t want Maddie like he thought he did after watching her with her son tonight, and that maybe he needs to treat his young nemesis a bit better if he truly wants a place in his life.</p><p>Something tightens in his chest, and although Vlad doesn’t consciously feel it, some part of him that wanted <em>the perfect way </em>to ease away his regret tinged loneliness decides that if it’s real, it’s already perfect.</p><p>It’s a sappy little good guy line, and part of Vlad is still reeling from the literal change of heart, but it’s something solid, something he can work with. He wants a real relationship with the other halfa. Wants to mentor him, to nudge him along, to shield him from the horrors of eternity as the only other one of your kind could. Wants to be called Uncle Vlad, wants to laugh at something stupid Daniel did without the teen taking personal offense, wants to be someone Daniel can turn to for comfort when he overhears something he shouldn’t.</p><p>He and Daniel aren’t just accidents, aren’t just freaks anymore. They’re a species, and Vlad doesn’t want to spend the rest of their unnatural lives fighting over a mistake <em>he</em> made. He’ll find a way to make it work. He’ll earn Daniel’s trust and he’ll <em>make it work</em>.</p><p>“God, this is ridiculous,” Vlad mutters to himself. “And it’s not going to work.”</p><p>But when had an obsession ever listened to reason?</p><p>Vlad sighs and lets his head rest on the headboard. He’s got no clue where to start with any of this. He’s engineered a fair bit of Daniel’s pain and suffering, some of it intentional, some of it accidental. He’s taunted the boy, played on his insecurities and fears, and given him an ultimatum he now regrets. How does one become a mentor to a child who doesn’t trust them, doesn’t really want anything to do with them?</p><p>With a careful bit of telekinesis, his laptop flies across the room and lands in his hands. He’ll need some idea of how to go about this, and he’s hoping he can find something to get him started. He thinks about trying to go back to sleep, but he’s too wired now to even try. He sighs again, and after powering the laptop up, Vlad starts his <a href="https://www.wikihow.com/Mentor-a-Troubled-Child">research</a>.</p>
<hr/><p>He has the outlines of…he won’t call it a plan, in the morning. It seems fairly condescending to map out how he’s going to go about convincing Daniel he’s had a change of heart, but it’s better than nothing.</p><p>He looks down at the list he jotted down earlier:</p>
<ol>
<li>Be an active listener.</li>
<li>Set some realistic expectations.</li>
<li>Smile and be positive.</li>
<li>Treat him as—</li>
</ol><p>Vlad groans and very nearly crumbles the list up on the spot. There’s absolutely no way that Daniel will believe he’s being genuine, especially when Vlad’s the one who basically declared them enemies in the first place. If this has any shot at working…Vlad takes out a pen and writes:</p>
<ol>
<li>Don’t let Daniel find out.</li>
</ol><p>With nothing better to go off of, he pockets it.</p><p>He spends the morning on the phone with his lawyer, going over the details of his company’s newest patent. He doesn’t bother trying to find another restaurant or something to do in the meanwhile; Amity is a—pardon the pun—ghost town in terms of culture. He orders something light from some uninspired chain and nurses a coffee until he’s sick of working.</p><p>Vlad goes back to Axion around lunch, when he knows most employees won’t be at their desks.</p><p>He notes that Daniel should still be in school and is unlikely to interfere as he slips into Axion undetected. The security measures in place <em>are</em> impressive, he’ll grant them that; just not impressive to a ghost. Vlad is quick to make his way to the CEO’s office. He flips through everything, checking to make sure Axion’s financials are in order. If they’re making suspect choices, he won’t have it reflecting poorly on his own company when they come to light.</p><p>Luckily, Axion’s about as clean as a company can be, from Vlad’s experience. They’ve made a couple of risky moves recently in investment choices, but Vlad’s got a few connections that could turn those risks into profit, so he doesn’t let it reflect poorly on the board’s decision-making skills.</p><p>Satisfied at what he’s found so far, Vlad decides to head down to their R&amp;D department. He’s still on the fence about Axion’s usefulness and the originality of their inventions would be a key factor in deciding if they were a worthwhile investment or not.</p><p>He gives himself the grand tour, careful to stay invisible and not pick anything up within view of the security cameras. He hates to admit it, but Axion is working on cutting edge inventions in <em>several </em>fields, and some of what he sees would absolutely threaten his own company’s prospects if Axion decided to go public too soon. He’d either have to take the company or ensure their research didn’t come to fruition before he was ready.</p><p>By the time he’s finished peeking over the shoulders of returned employees and rifling around when he knows no one is looking, he realizes that he’s spent a few hours vetting Axion Labs.</p><p>Vlad leans against a wall and hums quietly to himself. He weighs the pros and cons: he’s quite busy this month, and it always took time to acquire something through the conventional channels. A company as promising as Axion wouldn’t go quietly, and he’d have to dedicate a lot of his schedule to making the takeover as smooth as possible. If it upset the talent and too many decided to leave, he might just get stuck with a lame duck. Despite all of that though, Axion was a good company, and if they played their cards right, it would also be a very valuable company…decisions, decisions.</p><p>He’s shaken out of his thinking by the sound of barking. Around him, the Axion employees in the room look at each other in question.</p><p>“Didn’t they just get rid of the dogs?” one asks. Another shrugs.</p><p>There’s low, angry barking, followed by a warmth growing in his chest that tells him a ghost is coming straight at him.</p><p>Vlad doesn’t think—as the ghost dog runs through the wall directly next to him, he grabs it by the collar and yanks it back with a hissed, “<em>heel</em>!”</p><p>The dog’s legs fly forward comically from the momentum of being stopped on a dime, but it quickly rights itself. Vlad notes that the employees are already out the door, and tallies a point in Axion’s favor that the company didn’t hire idiots.</p><p>The dog growls, trying to turn to bite him. Vlad tightens his grip and yanks again, forcing the beast to its haunches.</p><p>“If you bite me, you’re not going to like it when I bite back,” he hisses, letting heat run down his hand in warning.</p><p>Finally, the dog calms down, panting heavily as it sizes him up.</p><p>The dog comes to a decision and wags its tail.</p><p>“That’s more like it,” Vlad says sharply.</p><p>He’s about to let the dog go and try to figure out just <em>what </em>it thought it was doing (or if it even understood what it was doing) when Vlad feels warmth course through him again. Without thinking, he raises his other hand up. If he’s thinking about buying Axion, he’s not about to let a pack of wild ghost dogs lower the value of his new asset. He braces himself for sharp teeth and more dog breath.</p><p><em>Daniel</em> flies through the wall at break-neck speed, shouting, “No! Bad dog! Get ba—AH!”</p><p>Vlad adjusts his aim and plucks the boy out of the air before he can finish his sentence. Daniel makes a surprised noise, clearly confused about being stopped so suddenly as he tries to gather his bearings. Vlad sets him down and lets him go.</p><p>“<em>Vlad</em>?” Daniel has the gall to sound shocked as he brushes himself off and takes a step back. “What are <em>you</em> doing here?”</p><p>“Daniel,” Vlad says in lieu of a greeting, “why are you chasing dogs through Axion Labs?”</p><p>Daniel huffs and looks up at the dog. “What was I supposed to do, let him stick around?”</p><p>“Don’t you have a thermos?” Vlad asks. Daniel hesitates. “Of course, you forgot it. I don’t know why I thought otherwise.”</p><p>Daniel pushes past his blustering admirably quickly and glares.</p><p>“Weird that you’re good with dogs, Plasmius,” he says. “You sic him on anyone recently?”</p><p>“Oh, so this <em>isn’t</em> you lashing out at your idiot father for never buying you a dog?” Vlad asks.</p><p>“I’m not lashing out!” Daniel says.</p><p>“If this is a cry for help, <em>I</em> could buy you a dog, Daniel,” Vlad can’t help but tease.</p><p>“It’s not a cry for help!” Daniel yells, voice pitched with anger. “What are you even doing here?”</p><p>“I was just leaving, actually,” Vlad says.</p><p>“That’s not a—”</p><p>They both freeze at the sound of the lab door opening. Vlad goes invisible and forces the dog to follow suit. He’s about to do the same to Daniel, but Vlad is pleasantly surprised to see the boy’s reflexes are excellent: he’s already out of sight.</p><p>Five humans enter; a man in a suit, some kind of consultant, and a teenager that looks to be the consultant’s daughter are followed in by two security guards. Vlad feels the dog’s hackles rise and clamps a hand over its maw to keep it from barking.</p><p>“Digital surveillance, retinal scanning access portals, titanium doors, laser deterrents: as promised, this is the most secure facility in the United States,” the consultant says, gesturing to the lab. Next to him, the man in the suit gives him a satisfied smile. Vlad adds another point in favor of acquiring Axion.</p><p>“Well done, Damon. You can feel free to bill me for the remainder of your fee,” he says.</p><p>“Which means: I can replace this top,” the teenager says to herself.</p><p>“Ugh, <em>Valarie</em>,” Daniel grumbles next to him. Vlad assumes they go to school together.</p><p>“It's good to know those smelly security dogs are a thing of the past,” the man in the suit says as they pass by; the dog nearly lunges at the words.</p><p>The five keep walking without incident, the two men talking about the logistics of the protections in place as the others follow behind. They’re quick to leave the lab. Neither halfas turn visible until the sound of feet on titanium flooring peters off.</p><p>Daniel, predictably, opens his mouth to say something no doubt incredibly elucidating. Vlad cuts him off by securing the dog and flying straight up and out of Axion. He can hear Daniel’s indignant yelp as he follows hot on his heels, unwilling to take the easy out Vlad is offering him.</p><p>“Heroes,” Vlad mutters to himself, but keeps an easy pace for Daniel to follow.</p><p>He stops at the edge of the forest near Axion and lets the dog loose as Daniel lands in front of him. The dog sits between them, wagging its tail and panting. Vlad crosses his arms over his chest.</p><p>“So let’s try again,” Daniel says. “<em>What</em> were you doing at Axion Labs?”</p><p>At the name, the dog’s ears perk up, and it looks back at the lab. Daniel doesn’t so much as glance its’ way, attention focused on his nemesis.</p><p>“Oh, the usual nefarious schemes, my boy,” Vlad says. “Plotting my way to the top, you know me.”</p><p>“I mean it, Plasmius,” Daniel says, bringing out the scary eyes again. “Stop messing around in my town.”</p><p>Vlad can’t help it.</p><p>“It’s not your town, Daniel,” he says. “And you wonder why your fellow ghosts don’t listen to you.”</p><p>Daniel frowns. Vlad notes idly that he’s tense, as if he were holding something back. “They don’t listen to me because they hate me!” he says, a hint of frustration in his tone.</p><p>Vlad tuts. “They don’t hate you,” he says, “they see you as competition.”</p><p>Daniel scoffs. “The lunch lady tried to kill everyone with meat!”</p><p>“Because she wants control of the town,” Vlad says.</p><p>“Technus stole a bunch of tech and tried to go robocop on everyone!”</p><p>“Because he wants control of the town.”</p><p>“Desiree turned Tucker into a halfa and made us fight!”</p><p>“Because she wants control of the town,” Vlad repeats.</p><p>Frustrated, Daniel says, “Skulker tried to kidnap me to be part of his museum because I’m a halfa!”</p><p>“Okay, I admit; that one was partially my doing,” Vlad says. “He never mentioned running into a half ghost, or we might have met sooner…” Vlad files <em>that</em> bit of information away for later.</p><p>“Then…<em>you</em>! What about <em>you</em>?” Daniel asks, gesturing at Vlad. “You’re messing around the town right now! And you clearly hate me!”</p><p>“I don’t <em>hate</em> you, Daniel,” Vlad says, affronted at the thought. He remembers very suddenly the list burning a hole in his pocket. “You’re, what, fourteen? I’m an adult; why would I hate a child?”</p><p>“Because I annoy you?” Daniel asks. “Because I stop you from doing what you want? I dunno Plasmius, because I wouldn’t renounce my dad like you wanted to become your evil apprentice?”</p><p>Vlad taps his chin, refusing to feel an ounce of the very real guilt settling in his chest.</p><p>“I <em>don’t</em> hate you, Daniel,” is all he can think to say.</p><p>Daniel looks to the side.</p><p>“You <em>hit</em> like you hate me,” he mutters darkly.</p><p>“No,” Vlad corrects him. “<em>You</em> hit like you hate <em>me</em>. <em>I</em> hit like I see a lot of potential in you, but I can’t let you know that or else I’ll lose the only connection I have to the only other halfa in existence. There’s a difference, you see.”</p><p>“You…see <em>potential</em> in me?” Daniel asks, looking at him like he’s got a second head.</p><p>“I…yes?” Vlad says. It sounds about as confident as it reads.</p><p>Daniel watches him very carefully for a moment.</p><p>“Get stuffed, Plasmius,” he decides with a growl, and before Vlad can respond, vanishes in a streak of white light across the afternoon sky. It’s one of their rare conversations where Daniel gets the last word in and simultaneously makes Vlad feel like he earned it.</p><p>“I think that could have gone better,” Vlad says to the dog.</p><p>The dog yips and shakes its head, sending slobber flying everywhere. Vlad doesn’t even try to dodge it.</p><p>With a sigh, he looks the dog up and down. In response, the dog wags its tail and pants.</p><p>“Do you think Daniel would be upset if I tossed you back in the ghost zone without him knowing?” he asks. “I’m trying to make a better impression, you know.”</p><p>The dog yips again. Vlad sighs.</p><p>“He most certainly would find a way to be offended by it,” he says. “But what am I supposed to do with you in the meantime?”</p><p>Thankfully, the dog appears to have a solution. It shrinks before his eyes into a puppy, leaping into his arms as if Vlad hadn’t just thought about sending him to the closest thing ghosts had to a pound. He sees the name ‘Cujo’ on the dog’s tag and puts two and two together.</p><p>“Convenient,” he says dryly. “I suppose you’re pleased with yourself?”</p><p>The dog takes kindly to the compliment, and Vlad gets another layer of dog slobber on his face for his troubles.</p>
<hr/><p>He decides that he’ll take Axion Labs, after all.</p><p>Vlad sends the information over to his lawyer as soon as he gets to his house. While he’s on the phone, the dog sniffs around every surface it can find and eventually plops down on the living room couch. He’ll need to figure out a way to keep it from attacking the labs again, but for now, he’s content it will listen to his command to <em>stay</em>.</p><p>Vlad sets about trying to find the closet café in the area. He doesn’t want to be in this quiet little house anymore and eventually settles on a restaurant somewhere in what passes as Amity’s business district. He ended up turning on the ghost shield he’d installed a few years ago on the way out. It’s not a permanent solution, but it’ll have to do for now. The dog has full reign of the house and the yard, and it doesn’t exactly need to eat or drink. He’ll figure out what to do with it later. Hopefully, he can convince Daniel to take it off his hands the next time they cross paths.</p><p>He quickly settles into his emails and is so engrossed with his work that he doesn’t notice the hours slip by. Before he knows it, it’s nearly lunch. More and more patrons are coming in now, and although no one is particularly loud, together they create enough noise that Vlad finds it difficult to concentrate.</p><p>He pays off his bill and grabs a to go cup for what’s left of his coffee. Just as he’s leaving the café, a group turns from around a corner and heads towards him. Vlad can hear easily enough that the group is from Casper High; several teachers are taking out a new hire for a welcome lunch. Vlad doesn’t pay the group any mind, already focused on other matters.</p><p>That is, until a redheaded woman in a sharp red suit rounds the corner and Vlad’s core flairs up. For a single second, Vlad thinks that she could be a halfa from how well she blends in. Logic quickly douses the idea; he wouldn’t have been able to sense her if she was in her human form, the same way he can’t sense Daniel unless he uses his powers. Vlad ignores how the surprise turns to disappointment in his gut. He loathes both of the reactions in equal measure.</p><p>He notices that she glances over at him as the group approaches. He doesn’t maintain eye contact; she’s not powerful enough to be anywhere near something he’ll need to worry about, and until Daniel decides to actually claim Amity, she’s got every right to be here. She’ll leave him alone, so he’ll do her the same courtesy.</p><p>Except, as he passes by, she <em>doesn’t</em>.</p><p>It’s a clever little move: she subtly trips the man to her right, and as he stumbles, she lets him knock her to the side, directly into the hand Vlad’s got his coffee in. She knocks it right onto his suit, and he grunts in surprise as the heat seeps into his skin. It doesn’t hurt (how could it, when he’s got the equivalent of an active volcano bubbling inside him?), but he’s absolutely <em>shocked</em> at her gall. She fakes a gasp and uses the accident as an excuse to grab his wrist. He knows it the second she tries to <em>sink</em> something into him. He feels her intent, slippery and malicious, and can tell she’s trying to feed.</p><p>Vlad shakes her off and plays it as distress. He pulls out his handkerchief and tries in vain to save his suit. In front of him, the ghost starts babbling.</p><p>“Oh my, I’m <em>so</em> sorry,” she says, glancing around like she’s looking for something to help him clean. One of the teachers pulls a few napkins out of her purse and hands them over, and she dabs at his lapel. “Let me make it up to you!”</p><p>“No need, madam,” Vlad says shortly. “It’ll dry clean easily enough.”</p><p>“I insist,” she insists, and firmly grabs his arm. “I’ll be right back, start without me!” she says to her fellow teachers. A few are quick to agree, and the redhead waves merrily as they promise to meet up later. She shoots Vlad a winning smile.</p><p>Fine, if she wants to play, Vlad will <em>play</em>.</p><p>“Of course,” he says. She sticks out her left hand, and with forced enthusiasm, Vlad takes it with his own. It doesn’t get past him <em>or</em> the faculty that she looks for a ring. A few in the group that had felt bad about leaving their new colleague behind quickly mention needing to eat before their hour is up and move along. “Vlad Masters. A pleasure.”</p><p>Vlad never knows who might recognize his name. The last two pairs of faculty eyes go wide, not including the ghost’s. It makes sense; she might have known a Vlad Plasmius, but Vlad has taken great care to make sure that the ghost zone never found a way to connect Plasmius to a human face or name. They excuse themselves as well, leaving Vlad alone with the ghost.</p><p>“Penelope Spectra,” she says. “And the pleasure is <em>all</em> mine.”</p><p>She insists on taking him to a different cafe. Vlad has no intention of actually sitting down with her, but he’ll let an exit present itself naturally. She puts a hand on his shoulder, and Vlad feels the unpleasant realization that she’s looking for something <em>specific</em> to take from him. Not just energy, but…</p><p>“I couldn’t help but see you don’t wear a ring,” Spectra says. “Widower?”</p><p>Ah. She wants negative emotions.</p><p>“No,” Vlad says wistfully, “just a bachelor.”</p><p>“A shame,” Spectra says sympathetically. “I can’t imagine why someone hasn’t come along sooner to scoop you up.”</p><p>Vlad could probably give her an itemized list, but refrains.</p><p>“I’m really quite busy, most of the time,” he informs her.</p><p>“Aren’t we all?” she asks. “But sometimes...it can get a little lonely, can’t it? When it’s just you against the world?”</p><p>She asks it like she’s sharing something profound about herself. At the word (you know the word), a reactionary pit forms in his chest, and he feels her latch onto it and <em>pull</em>.</p><p>Not just negative emotion then: sadness, grief, vulnerability.</p><p>“It can,” he allows. “But then, isn’t everyone a little alone?”</p><p>“Most are,” she says. “You wouldn’t think it, but kids feel it the worst. It’s a big part of why I’m in my field; children might not really be alone, but they’re some of the loneliest beings on earth. I can’t help but be drawn to them.”</p><p>“I take it you’re a counselor, then,” Vlad says. “Casper High?”</p><p>“Got it in one,” she says with a nod. “How could I not be there when they’re suffering so much?”</p><p>Oh, she’s tricky. Vlad usually likes tricky, or at least respects it, but if she’s at Casper High, it means Daniel doesn’t know yet that there’s an intruder amongst the faculty population. And <em>that</em>…doesn’t sit well with Vlad.</p><p>“And how are you finding it?” he asks. “Have you met with the students?”</p><p>As they round a corner, Vlad leaves behind a clone, invisible and difficult to detect with how close it keeps its energy to its temporary core. Spectra doesn’t so much as stutter when she answers him, so he’s reasonably sure she didn’t sense it. The clone circles overhead, waiting for an opportunity to strike.</p><p>“I’ve only got a couple left,” she says. “I actually started last week, but everything’s been so hectic we haven’t been able to celebrate until today. The work is wonderful; the children make me feel young just talking to them.”</p><p>She’s very self-assured. He wonders if she’s done this before, or if arrogance is driving this confidence. Ahead, he sees an alleyway covered partially by a dumpster and thinks that if she tries to take him any further, the clone will be able to send her flying down the alley without drawing any attention.</p><p>“But enough about me,” she says before he can ask anything else. “What do you do with yourself, Mr. Masters?”</p><p>“A little of everything,” he answers, making a show of checking his watch. “I’m actually here on business. I’m afraid I can’t stay any longer. Ta, darling.”</p><p>She latches onto his arm the second he tries to pull away, disguising the violence in the action as insistence.</p><p>“No way, <em>you</em> are letting me treat you for ruining that suit!” she says playfully.</p><p>Vlad thinks about it for a moment; he's not quite at the alley yet, and he doesn’t really want to cause a scene, but he’s starting to feel the effects of her…<em>charms. </em>Just as he tries to answer her tactfully, he’s saved. His ghost sense goes off, warmth pooling in his chest. Ah, <em>perfect</em>.</p><p>His clone strikes in an instant, and Vlad can tell its aim is impeccable as he feels it fly off, dragging the second ghost behind it. He can tell in an instant Spectra knows something’s awry, too. The two of them must be working together.</p><p>“On second thought, my lunch hour is nearly up,” she says, glancing down at her own wristwatch. Quickly, she lets him go and steps back. With a clever movement, she slides a card into his hand. “Let’s meet again,” she says with a coy wink, and without another word, makes her way back towards the teachers at the café.</p><p>Vlad has half a mind to teleport straight to his clone’s location and take care of the problem immediately—when he remembers something important: <em>Daniel</em> is the one who wants to keep this town safe. Vlad couldn’t do it <em>for</em> him. He had to…what were the words? Be supportive? Help him focus on working toward his goals?</p><p>Right, well…Vlad will try anything once.</p><p>But first… he looks down at his ruined suit. First, he’ll get cleaned up.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'd love to hear your feedback! Drop me a comment down below :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Path</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The final bell can’t come soon enough. Danny can’t help himself: he fidgets, his fingers thump a little too loudly on his binder, his eyes wander too often towards the clock. To his credit, Lancer doesn’t so much as twitch. Today’s day three of presentation day, and everyone’s a little sick of it. If any of them have to hear one more bad opinion about how <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Cwi-sIvWK0oLW2lbqEVj1-Y0py74wMOgiW1PInncDiA/edit?usp=sharing">Nick Carraway was a bad friend to Gatsby</a> or that <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sSlzjrc-54_Olbjumu0oQhtl4yV5vvFxSO2IH0Kvjek/edit?usp=sharing">Grendel was actually the most emotional character</a> out of the book named after him, Danny doesn’t think any of them will survive unscathed.</p><p>He honestly doesn’t know how his classmates come up with the things they do, but if they talk for the whole period, Danny can zone out and slip passed Lancer’s notice without any problem. And after last night? Trying to land a hit on Plasmius (who was more than happy to return the favor) followed by his unsuccessful sneak in attempt? Danny needs a little zone out time.</p><p>He doesn’t really want to think about everything that happened last night. Doesn’t really want to think about anything or anyone at the moment. Still he can’t help but wonder…what was Plasmius <em>doing</em> in Amity Park? Why was he kicking around Axion like he was looking for something? And why had he…well, the last part answered itself: because he liked knowing Danny was suffering. Whatever. At least he had friends. And a family. And a reason to get up out of bed every morning.</p><p>Danny half-heartedly kicks a few ideas around as to what Vlad’s doing in town, but none of them really take him anywhere, and the whole exercise just makes him that much more tired. He tries to focus again on the presentation (Kwan is talking about <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rQwK3Mr5HmEwE5Q-HCX9ye7KwOc7kXt5vzDg2YnzCGU/edit?usp=sharing">Willy Lowman’s wife’s stockings like they prove the guy is the devil</a>) and almost instantly loses concentration again.</p><p>Danny decides to take a risk; he puts his head in his arms and hides his eyes from Lancer by leaning forward until his face is hiding behind Tucker’s back. He passes out almost immediately and doesn’t move a muscle until the pitch of the bell above signals it’s time to get out of this hellhole.</p><p>He’s packed and waiting at the door for Sam and Tucker before the bell goes silent. Lancer’s yelling something about an assignment due by the end of next week, but he forgets it almost immediately as his friends follow him out of Lancer’s classroom.</p><p>“You were totally snoring, dude,” Tucker says once they’re out of earshot. “You’re <em>so</em> lucky Lancer was too busy listening to Valarie talk about how <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fmMhTGvGuksaAzUYDiMUZl3oEYB2a3NModjmLbeVlxw/edit?usp=sharing">Vonnegut depicts the horrors of war</a> to care.”</p><p>Danny snorts. “I can’t wait until we start poetry. Books take too long to read. I can blast through a poem in five minutes and be done with the whole thing.”</p><p>Sam bumps him with her shoulder. “Not the only thing you’ve been blasting through lately. You never told us what happened at Axion.”</p><p>Danny lets out a sigh.</p><p>“Plasmius was there,” he says. “I don’t know what he was trying to do, but I think I stopped it. For now, anyways.”</p><p>“Maybe looking to steal something?” Tucker offers.</p><p>“Or trying to find something incriminating,” Sam says as they turn and start down the main hall.</p><p>“Whatever it is he’s doing, it made me late,” Danny grumbles. “I got grounded again.”</p><p>Sam and Tucker both wince in sympathy.</p><p>“Sucks, dude,” Tucker says. “My parents are on my back for staying up too late, too. Something about it ‘not being healthy’ to ‘stay up all night coding’ or whatever.”</p><p>Danny kicks at an empty bottle and, after checking that they were alone, points a finger at it. A ghost ray hits it and knocks it to the left edge of a nearby garbage can. The bottle tumbles out and clatters onto the floor. Danny sighs again, picks the bottle up, and tosses it properly.</p><p>“Dude, I think your aim is getting worse,” Tucker says.</p><p>“Not helping, Tucker!” Sam says, annoyed.</p><p>“Plasmius said the same thing,” Danny admits gruffly.</p><p>“Screw him,” Sam says resolutely. They’re finally at the front, and Tucker goes a step faster to open the door. “Don’t listen to a single thing he says, Danny. He’s arrogant, he’s a jerk, he’s got way too much money—”</p><p>Tucker points. “—<em>and</em> not for nothing Sam, but I think that’s him right over there.”</p><p>Danny’s head turns on a swivel. Sure enough, there’s his archenemy, leaning nonchalantly on Casper High’s flagpole like he belongs there. Just seeing his stupid, unimpressed face in the middle of a crowd of high schoolers sets something off inside of him, and with a short, "don’t wait up," he pushes through the crowd and marches straight over to Vlad.</p><p>“What are <em>you</em> doing here?” he demands. In some ways, it’s a relief that Vlad can’t shift right now. In all other ways, it’s all Danny wants him to do, because if they’re fighting, he doesn’t have to listen to anything Vlad has to say.</p><p>Vlad pushes off the flagpole. He’s immaculate as ever, and something about the effortless way he waltzes up to Danny pisses the teen off like nothing else.</p><p>“Why hello Daniel, it’s good to see you as well,” Vlad says. “I’m fine, thank you for asking.”</p><p>“I didn’t ask,” Danny says shortly. “Now answer my question.”</p><p>“You want to keep this little town safe, right Daniel?” Vlad cuts right to the chase. Danny nods, eyes narrowed. “Then I’ve got something to show you.”</p><p>“Is that a threat?” Danny growls.</p><p>Vlad hums. “Will you come if it isn’t?”</p><p>“Not on your life.”</p><p>“Then yes, it’s a threat,” Vlad confirms. “But if you’d really rather not, I’d simply love to meet your friends. Remind me, <em>Samantha</em> is the one who called me an arrogant jerk with too much money, correct?”</p><p>Danny glares harder than he thought he could.</p><p>“This better not take long,” he threatens.</p><p>Vlad nods, looking way too happy about the whole successful blackmail thing.</p><p>“Come along then, little badger,” he says with a wave, turning and setting an almost leisurely pace. Danny rolls his eyes but doesn’t comment on Vlad’s lack of vitriol. He’ll see what Vlad wants and then knock the stuffing out of him after for threatening his friends.</p><p>The two head down Casper’s sidewalk and are almost outside school grounds when Vlad stops.</p><p>Danny stops too, mostly out of confusion. There’s not much that can stop someone as sure of themselves as Vlad in their tracks. His confusion isn’t cleared up at all when all that he sees is the new counselor making her way over to them.</p><p>Vlad hisses in his ear, lower than a human could possibly hear, “Daniel, just go along with whatever I say, <em>please</em>.”</p><p>“We’ll see,” Danny hisses right back, then puts on his best fake smile as Ms. Spectra approaches them. Danny’s ghost sense goes off, and he subtly looks around for the nearby ghost as the two adults start talking.</p><p>“I didn’t think I’d see you again so soon,” Spectra says. “You clean up well.”</p><p>“Thank you,” Vlad says with an easy smile. “I hope you were able to eat after we parted. I <em>do</em> apologize for how abrupt it all was, my dear.”</p><p>Spectra grimaces ever so slightly. “I ran out of time, unfortunately,” she says. “I was actually going to head back now, if you’d like to come with me. And—”</p><p>For the first time in the conversation, she looks at Danny with a smile that feels a shade condescending.</p><p>“—Danny Fenton! How do you know my favorite student, Mr. Masters?”</p><p>“Uncle on my mom’s side,” Danny says before Vlad can call him his son. Now <em>where</em> is that ghost…?</p><p>“…Precisely,” Vlad recovers quickly, Danny won’t grant him much, but he’ll grant him <em>that</em>. “And his parents are expecting him home soon, unfortunately, or we’d be glad to accompany you.”</p><p>“I could just walk home on my own, Uncle Vlad,” Danny says. “I do it every other day. Besides, you were just telling me how much you liked Ms. Spectra. You should spend some time with <em>her</em>!”</p><p>Wherever it was, the ghost wasn’t coming out. Danny tries to look subtly over Spectra’s shoulder, but no dice.</p><p>“Oh he <em>was</em>, was he?” Spectra says, giving Vlad (ew!) a considering gaze. Danny grins at the subtle annoyance on Vlad’s face.</p><p>“As enticing an offer as it is, I promised your mother I’d get you home before three,” Vlad says quickly. “Some other time, perhaps?”</p><p>“Some other time,” Spectra agrees reluctantly. Oh god, did she <em>really</em> like <em>Vlad</em> of all people? She could do so much better.</p><p>“Do you have his number, Ms. Spectra?” Danny cuts in quickly. He’ll find the ghost later; there’s only so many opportunities he has to mess with Vlad. “You know, so you can call him?”</p><p>“She’s given me her card already, Daniel,” Vlad says, shooting him a look.</p><p>“But you didn’t return the favor?” Danny asks, pretending to be shocked. “But you said last week that you were trying to find someone special? What’s wrong with Ms. Spectra?”</p><p>Vlad gives him a look like he can’t believe Danny asked him that question.</p><p>“You know what?” he says. “You’re absolutely right, Daniel. Let’s eat. My treat.”</p><p>Oh, that was the absolute <em>last</em> thing Danny wanted. Before he can remind Vlad about his parents needing him home (which isn’t a lie; Vlad <em>knows</em> he’s grounded!), Vlad’s hand clamps down on Danny’s shoulder and pulls him off, Spectra keeping pace on Vlad’s other side. Vlad makes a show of texting ‘his parents’ about being late, which does absolutely nothing but make sure that he can’t run out on this weird date without Spectra asking about it tomorrow at school.</p><p>Danny tunes them out as they talk, trying to figure out a way to get out of this without Spectra thinking he’s crazy and bringing him to her cold, lonely little office every day until graduation. Maybe fake a headache? Or pretend he forgot something at school? Danny tightens the grip on his backpack straps as he mulls it over, the thermos poking him in the back as he adjusts it.</p><p>Vlad takes them down a deserted road, chatting amicably the whole while. Danny might as well have been invisible, for all Vlad cares. If it weren’t for the hand clamped over his shoulder, he’d have been able to sneak away, no problem.</p><p>They go down another empty road, which is strange. Usually, there are a <em>few</em> cars or pedestrians around at this time. Danny’s suddenly on high alert. He never got a read on the ghost in the area, and now no one’s around? Something’s up, and he needs to figure it out while Vlad’s trying to distract him.</p><p>Spectra chuckles at something Vlad says, and abruptly, Vlad stops at the mouth of an alley. There’s a restaurant a little ways ahead; Danny thinks that if Vlad actually makes him sit down and order something, it’ll be the most expensive thing on the menu.</p><p>“Why’d we stop?” Danny asks. He’s starting to get nervous. Vlad can be unpredictable, and with a human involved…he didn’t <em>think</em> Vlad would hurt her, but Danny used to think a lot of things about Vlad that ended up not being true.</p><p>The man in question turns to him and drops his arm entirely.</p><p>“Good question, Daniel,” he says. Next to him, Spectra looks a bit confused, but to an outsider, Vlad’s tone is that of a teacher, and she’ll probably assume whatever he’s about to say is some kind of life lesson. “Is there anything out of the ordinary around here?”</p><p>Danny looks left, then right. The buildings and roads are all the same. The only thing that’s different…</p><p>“…bit of a ghost town right now,” he says.</p><p>Vlad nods. Danny gets the feeling Vlad’s leading up to something he’s not going to like.</p><p>“An astute observation,” he says. “Would you like to know why?”</p><p>Next to him, Spectra looks irritated.</p><p>“What are you—”</p><p>Vlad grabs her by the neck mid-sentence and in one fluid motion, Spectra is sent flying into the alley. Danny shouts in protest, right on Vlad’s heels as he follows him into the alley. He watches Spectra hit the wall <em>hard</em> and slide down it for a moment, hair affray and suit dirty. Vlad pins her with one hand and looks back at Danny.</p><p>“Let her go, Vlad!” Danny yells, panicked by the display. “What are you doing, you absolute fruit loop?!”</p><p>Vlad sighs and pointedly does <em>not</em> drop his counselor. Oh god, does Vlad want to fight? Is this some weird motivation to do what Vlad wants? Is he putting someone innocent in danger to see how he reacts?</p><p>“Daniel, you cannot honestly tell me you didn’t sense this woman was a ghost when she approached us ten minutes ago,” Vlad says.</p><p>“Let me go!” Spectra growls. “What are you talking about? Danny, please; get help!”</p><p>He’s…is he about to spill Danny’s secret?</p><p>…it’s a line he never thought even someone like <em>Vlad</em> would cross. Something stings deeply within him, but he tries to push it down to focus on salvaging the situation.</p><p>“Vlad!” Danny shouts. “Stop! If she was a ghost, wouldn’t someone have figured it out earlier?”</p><p>“Yes,” Vlad agrees sarcastically. “<em>I</em> did, the moment she approached me this afternoon! Honestly Daniel, I—”</p><p>Vlad cuts himself off abruptly. Takes a deep breath. Continues,</p><p>“Some ghosts can hide their presences very well,” he says, and the difference in his tone is night and day. It throws Danny off guard entirely. “She’s an example of one. Her assistant is another.”</p><p>“Ghosts can do that?” Danny asks, despite the insanity of the situation. Vlad was awful, but…he cared about his reputation. About his…<em>their</em> secret. He wouldn’t be doing this unless he was convinced he was right... right? And if there was one thing he could trust about Vlad, it was that the slimy jerk was careful.</p><p>“<em>You</em> took Bertrand?” she cries out. “Danny, he’s kidnapped my assistant! He’s a ghost! You need to find help before he—”</p><p>“Be quiet, we’re having a learning moment,” Vlad growls at her, slamming a hand over her mouth. He turns to Danny and adopts the same face Mr. Lancer makes when he thinks Danny is close to an answer. “I know that your senses are a lot stronger than a normal person. You can usually sense a ghost. What did she do to trick you?”</p><p>Spectra yells something, but it’s muffled. She doesn’t look scared though, if anything…she looks <em>pissed</em>. She blinks, and between one second and the next, her eyes turn bright red. Her struggling renews, and Vlad readjusts his grip to keep her pinned.</p><p>Danny wants to kick himself for not realizing it sooner.</p><p>“My ghost sense usually makes me shiver when a ghost is nearby,” he says carefully, thoughts on hiding his identity forgotten as he trains his eyes on Spectra. On the ghost that was apparently pretending to be a counselor. “Her room is always <em>really</em> cold.”</p><p>Vlad nods. “Excellent,” he says with such authority that Danny almost believes he means it, “and she avoided you when you weren’t in that room, correct?”</p><p>Danny nods, feeling a bit untethered at this whole conversation. Why was Vlad trying to teach him something? Why was he being nice? Was this some kind of set up, or evil plan, or—</p><p>“I felt her try to sink her energy into my core earlier today,” Vlad continues. “She feeds from humans. What do you think she takes?”</p><p>“She’s been taking something from us?” Danny asks a bit helplessly. In his defense, this was <em>not</em> how he expected this day to go.</p><p>Vlad nods. “She masqueraded as a counselor,” he says. “What did she do, in that position?”</p><p>Danny shrugs, a little helpless. What was Vlad trying to prove? That he didn’t know what he was doing? That he was stupid?</p><p>“I dunno, she was a counselor!” Danny yells. “She was supposed to make us feel better, but every time I got called into her office, I just left feeling…<em>worse</em>…”</p><p>It hits him mid-sentence. She <em>wanted</em> him to feel worse. It was on purpose.</p><p>“And that’s what she wanted?” Vlad prompts.</p><p>“What are you getting out of this, Plasmius?” Danny growls, trying to hide his embarrassment at being tricked. “Why bother pointing out there was a ghost under my nose this whole time unless you’re just trying to do the exact same thing <em>she</em> was doing?”</p><p>Self-loathing pools heavy in his gut, and he fights to keep it down. Vlad sends him a level look and just as he opens his mouth to speak, he feels something stab into him and start <em>yanking</em>. Danny gasps and tries to resist, but suddenly, all he can feel is that self-loathing. It’s all encompassing, everything he looks at reminds him of some stupid thing he’s said or done, the toes he’s stepped on, the mistakes he’s made…</p><p>Spectra nearly pushes herself up and out of Vlad’s grip, and Danny hears him curse as he shifts into his ghost form to hold her down with both hands. She freezes, momentarily startled, and curses right back when she realizes the severity of the situation that she’s put herself in.</p><p>“<em>Both</em> of you are here?” she hisses. “And I thought all that energy I sensed in you just meant you were <em>that</em> pathetically sad.”</p><p>Vlad gives her a wordless growl and slams her back down again. He glances back at Danny, and his eyes go wide.</p><p>“She’s using you, Daniel!” Vlad says. “Sever the connection! Push her out!”</p><p>“I—<em>how</em>?” he howls. He can hear his mom’s voice, asking where his parents went wrong, and it’s not fair, it’s just <em>not fair</em>…</p><p>Spectra’s eyes are fully red, and she’s screaming something horrible, Danny can tell it’s horrible, but he can’t seem to focus on it, because if he does, all he can think about is how disappointed his dad looks when he gets caught sneaking out…</p><p>“It’s <em>your</em> energy!” Vlad says sharply, hands glowing red as he tries to keep her from slipping out of his grasp. “<em>You </em>control where it goes; disrupt her connection. Salt the leech and be done with it, Daniel!”</p><p>Disrupt the connection? How could he—but he actually knows the answer. In his human form he’d been feeling awful this whole week…but he’d felt a <em>lot</em> better when he shifted into his ghost form.</p><p>Danny doesn’t hesitate; he feels Spectra trying to drain him dry to get away from Vlad, and he thinks ‘<em>hope you have a support group, ‘cause I’m cutting you off, Spectra</em>.’</p><p>Danny pools his energy and morphs, the rings cutting off whatever link Spectra has with him. He feels himself calm down and in front of him, Vlad slams Spectra once, twice, three times into the concrete wall with brutal efficiency. She slumps over and slides down the wall, pieces of it chipping off and landing with a crackle by her side. She’s not dead, but she’s not getting up for a while, either.</p><p>Danny’s ghost sense goes off and he turns on a dime, hand ready with an ectoblast. It’s one of Vlad’s clones standing behind him, carrying another figure, and Danny drops his hand. Without a word, the clone tosses another ghost down next to Spectra and disappears. Danny takes a step closer and—</p><p>“Is <em>that</em> her assistant?”</p><p>Vlad shrugs, dusting some grime off his hands and shoulders. “I suppose. They share a gimmick. I’m not surprised that they hunt together.”</p><p>Danny feels for the Fenton Thermos in his backpack, but hesitates for a moment.</p><p>“What are you going to do with them?” Danny asks.</p><p>Vlad looks at him curiously.</p><p>“They attacked us both. If I haven’t intervened, who knows how many students she would have harmed? That, and she knows <em>both </em>of our identities. I’ve enjoyed my privacy until this point. What would <em>you</em> have me do with them?” he asks.</p><p>Danny shrugs, wishing in that moment he had a better plan. “Throw them back in the ghost zone, I guess. I’m not destroying them or whatever <em>you</em> do when a ghost messes with you just because it’s convenient.”</p><p>Vlad tilts his head to the side. This is the part where he gets snippy or sarcastic or makes fun of Danny for being weak. Or the part where Vlad ignores him and does what he wants. Or the part where they start fighting, and then Danny has to explain <em>why </em>he’s covered in bruises that disappear overnight (or worse, he <em>doesn’t</em> have to explain them, and he spends all night wondering <em>why</em>). Danny braces himself the best he can for whatever Vlad decides to throw at him, trying to remind himself that Vlad’s a bitter jerk who likes to hurt him however he can, and <em>god</em>, why did he even stay <em>this</em> long?</p><p>“They may come back if you decide to spare them,” Is all Vlad says.</p><p>Danny gives him a strange look and takes out the Fenton Thermos.</p><p>“Then I’ll toss them right back in the next time they try to mess with my town,” he says resolutely, wiggling the thermos in front of him. “It’s my job.”</p><p>For once, Vlad doesn’t needle him. Doesn’t even make fun of him for saying Amity is <em>his</em>.</p><p>“Very well,” he says simply.</p><p>“What?” Danny says.</p><p>Vlad sighs and gestures to the thermos.</p><p>“Very well,” he repeats. “You know what will happen if you don’t dispose of them. If you want to send them back instead, we’ll do that.”</p><p>Danny can’t help it; for a second, his jaw just about hits the floor.</p><p>“What do you get out of it?” Danny asks suspiciously. He’s not the best at it, but when Danny runs the numbers in his head…in this situation, Vlad <em>loses</em>. And Vlad <em>hates</em> losing. So why…?</p><p>Vlad shrugs. “A headache? The beginnings of what will not doubt be the quick erosion of my image amongst the denizens of the ghost zone? Just capture them before they decide they actually like it <em>here</em>, instead of back home.”</p><p>Danny doesn’t wait; he uncaps the lid and captures the two ghosts. When they’re secure, Vlad turns to go. He takes a step, then stops for a moment.</p><p>“What?” Danny asks, a shade harsher than he meant to.</p><p>Vlad looks like he’s having some kind of internal debate with himself. Finally, he says,</p><p>“I should have told you she was dangerous immediately,” he says, and it looks like it takes something out of him, to admit it. “I didn’t think she would take such an interest in…”</p><p>Vlad peters off. Clears his throat. Continues,</p><p>“It was clear that you…were upset, before you confirmed she was a threat.” Vlad says. “Regardless, she could have tried to seriously hurt you.”</p><p>Danny can only look at him like he’s grown a second head. What was <em>happening</em> right now? Who was this ghost and what had he done with Plasmius?</p><p>“You try to seriously hurt me all the time!” Danny accuses with fiery indignation. Fiery indignation is a safe reaction.</p><p>“Be that as it may,” Vlad says, looking to the side briefly. “I would like to…<em>stop</em>…doing that.”</p><p>“You…want a truce?” Danny asks, bewildered.</p><p>“I’ll be staying in Amity Park for a while,” Vlad says. “I’m sure you’d rather focus your attention on the ghosts actively threatening your town than on hunting me down to pick a fight every night.”</p><p>Yeah, Danny doesn’t believe <em>that</em> for a second.</p><p>“Yeah, I’ll get back to you about that,” Danny decides, recapping the lid. He’s got ghosts to send back to the ghost zone and an archnemesis acting uncharacteristically subdued to ponder over in the meantime. Some of the newest anger and resentment against Vlad doesn’t feel so sharp in his chest at the moment, but… it could be a trap. Make him feel safe, then drive the dagger in his back. Spectra is proof that he can’t trust people who try to help him, especially out of the goodness of their hearts. He’ll have to be careful.</p><p>Vlad nods, and with a long-suffering sigh, gestures to the thermos and adds on, “and please Daniel, for my peace of mind: at least threaten them a <em>little</em>. It does wonders for the schedule, when ghosts don’t come back for revenge in the middle of the workday.”</p><p>Danny rolls his eyes and says, “You’re like the worst uncle ever. That’s terrible advice, dude. It’s <em>my</em> town, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep it safe on <em>my</em> terms.”</p><p>Danny turns and is about to take off, when Vlad spits out,</p><p>“Let me show you how to claim the town.”</p><p>Danny stops in his tracks.</p><p>“What are you talking about, Plasmius?” he says carefully. It’s not the first time he’s mentioned it, but he’s never said there was a specific way to do it. Danny had thought Vlad had just been teasing him.</p><p>“You keep saying that Amity Park is yours,” Vlad says. “But ghosts don’t recognize it as your territory. If you claim it, you’ll see a lot less competition. That, <em>and</em>, you’ll be able to sense when a ghost enters your territory.”</p><p>Danny frowns. Part of him flat out wants to say no, consequences be damned. Sure, it’ll make his life harder, but he’s been surviving so far, and he’s getting better with his powers every day. He doesn’t <em>need</em> Vlad’s help, especially when it so often comes with strings attached.</p><p>And yet, something stirs within him, desperate to see if it was possible. All he wants to do is keep Amity safe, and if Vlad is telling the truth…as much as Danny hates the idea of putting his faith in the older halfa, he <em>does</em> claim to know how to help him, and the offer is too good to pass up, even if it might end up being a lie.</p><p>“…fine,” Danny says shortly. The disbelief on Vlad’s face is a good sign. He hadn’t expected Danny to say yes. “What do I have to do?”</p><p>Vlad recovers quickly.</p><p>“Tonight around ten, meet me at <em>that</em> building.” Danny follow where Vlad points; it’s a random building in the middle of town; it’s not even the tallest one around. “I’ll show you then.”</p><p>“Okay,” Danny says. “But if this is some kind of trick…”</p><p>He lets the threat hang in the air.</p><p>“I’m sure you’ll string me up a clothesline or whatever it is you consider a biting punishment, Daniel,” Vlad says with a grin. “I’ll see you tonight!”</p><p>Vlad vanishes before Danny has time to figure out a good comeback. Danny doesn’t stick around too long after that; he has to get home before his parents think he wasn’t taking them seriously and ground him for the rest of his life.</p>
<hr/><p>Vlad gets back to his house to find it about a half an inch from being totally destroyed. A passing tornado would’ve been more contentious of its surroundings.</p><p>He’s feeling <em>very </em>charitable at the moment, so he doesn’t blast the dog into a pile of goo.</p><p>He <em>does</em> banish it outside to salvage whatever he can of the living room and kitchen. As he cleans, he orders groceries, and they arrive about midway through the cleanup. When he’s finished, the place is mostly presentable (and noticeably less decorated), so he lets Cujo back in.</p><p>“You’re lucky you didn’t touch anything important,” Vlad says. The dog barks and wags its tail.</p><p>Thankfully, the dog left his room untouched, so when the evening rolls around and he wants to take a quick nap, he does. The dog follows and doesn’t leave when Vlad shoos it away.</p><p>“Fine,” he says, “but don’t even <em>think</em> about getting on the bed.”</p><p>Vlad lies down for a moment, immediately aware of how profoundly <em>uncomfortable</em> his bed has become. He rolls over to inspect it, finding the whole mattress lumpy and <em>covered </em>in dog hair.</p><p>On a hunch, Vlad sticks an intangible hand through the mattress and grabs onto one of the lumps. He pulls out a pair of half-eaten, slobbery shoes. He goes back in and finds another pair, and on the third try, finds his laptop case. The laptop is nowhere to be found.</p><p>Vlad looks between the ruined shoes, the laptop case, and the smiley, panting dog.</p><p>“If I find you’ve buried my laptop, you’ll be <em>lucky</em> if all I do is send you to the pound.”</p><p>The dog, predictably, shakes its head and slobbers all over him.</p><p>Vlad doesn’t take a nap, after all.</p>
<hr/><p>When he arrives at the building they agreed to meet on Daniel is already there, leaning against the roof exit and balancing a thermos on one of his fingers. He’s clearly bored, which means he’s been waiting a while. Vlad knows that if he wasn’t directly catering to Daniel’s obsession, that might not have been the case, and reminds himself to stay focused on the goal. He’s here to <em>teach</em> Daniel something. There’s no need to lash out or upset him. Daniel’s here with no threat made against him, and it’s up to Vlad to make sure he doesn’t ruin the trust Daniel is placing in him.</p><p>Vlad lands with a, “good evening, Daniel.”</p><p>“Hey,” Daniel responds. There’s a lack of tension in his jaw that Vlad thinks bodes well for this whole affair. “So how do I do this?”</p><p>Vlad lets the brusque greeting go. He beckons Daniel forward and points to a spot in the middle of the roof. Cautiously, Daniel approaches, and when Vlad gestures that he sit, Daniel does so with little more than a questioning look.</p><p>Vlad sits in front of him, matching his crossed legs.</p><p>“How to you <em>think</em> you should do this?” Vlad starts.</p><p>Daniel gives him a blank look. Vlad holds back a sigh.</p><p>“I’m sure you’ve put some thought into this,” he explains. “This particular exercise takes a great deal of visualization and intent; if you are focusing the wrong way or on the wrong thing, it won’t work.”</p><p>Daniel studies him for a moment, judging his sincerity.</p><p>“Don’t laugh if I’m wrong,” he says in warning.</p><p>“Daniel, this took me two years to figure out how to do,” Vlad informs him. “Whatever you came up with in a few hours will <em>not</em> be the most ridiculous thing I’ve actually tried.”</p><p>Daniel takes a second to weigh his words.</p><p>“It sounds a lot like scent marking,” he says quickly, like he wants to explain himself before Vlad makes fun of him. “Like ghosts would need to smell or sense or whatever that the place they’re in doesn’t belong to them. So, if I wanted them to know Amity Park was my turf, I’d have to leave my energy everywhere or something.”</p><p>“Not a bad guess,” Vlad says carefully, making sure he sounds absolutely neutral. Daniel relaxes minutely at the lack of criticism and <em>oh</em>, Vlad can’t believe the kind of picture he’s painted of himself for Daniel until now. He’s got his work cut out for him, <em>that</em> he can’t deny. “It was one of the first things I thought of, as well. The issue is that claiming an area, somewhat paradoxically, isn’t much of a physical undertaking. You’ll be able to claim all of Amity Park without moving from that spot. How do you think you could do that?”</p><p>Daniel thinks for a moment.</p><p>“I’d have to reach out somehow,” Daniel says quietly. “But I don’t have the kind of power that would let me reach <em>everything</em>.”</p><p>“The beauty of the thing, Daniel,” Vlad says, “is that you <em>do</em>. Power levels have very little effect on claiming an area. Any ghost could claim this area, but if they did, they’d have to defend their claim. The reason so many ghosts go after you is <em>you</em> are the biggest threat to a claim in this area. <em>You</em> live here. You know these buildings, this land. Not only are you intimately familiar with Amity Park; Amity Park is familiar with you.”</p><p>“What does that mean?” Daniel asks quietly. “You’re talking like the buildings are alive.”</p><p>Vlad nods. “They’re not <em>alive</em> in the traditional sense,” he agrees. “But everything has energy and movement in it, when you look at it on a micro-level. Think of atoms, of how electrons bounce wildly around in unpredictable patterns even if they exist in the form of steel or rock. Think of how the sun heats up concrete on a sunny day. Think of how grass grows through the cracks in the sidewalk. To a ghost, there is life in everything. You just need to connect with it.”</p><p>“How?” Daniel breathes, and Vlad knows that he understands.</p><p>“It’s like putting on your favorite coat,” he says. “Like coming home to an old friend. Close your eyes and visualize this building, first. We’re in the exact center of Amity Park, your territory in all but name. You’ll start here and extend outward. You can <em>feel</em> this building for what it is, and on some level, it knows you’re here.”</p><p>“No it doesn’t,” Daniel says, but his eyes stay closed.</p><p>“You’re resting your weight against it, aren’t you?” Vlad asks. “The heat from your body is being absorbed by it. Just sitting here, you’ve disturbed the gravel and scared off birds that normally perch here. Your presence has affected this building, Daniel. You need to realize that the building has affected you, too.”</p><p>“How?” Daniel whispers.</p><p>“It’s pushing back against your weight,” Vlad responds. “It’s cold against your legs. And it has left imprints on your hands where the gravel dug into it. It’s not living in the traditional sense, but there’s an energy to it, and once you <em>know</em> that, you can help it recognize you.”</p><p>“How can a building recognize me?” Daniel asks. There’s a kind of hope in his voice that Vlad thinks he’d protect until his last breath.</p><p>“You’ve got it in your mind,” Vlad says. Daniel nods. “When I say reach out, I don’t mean physically. I don’t even mean with your spectral energy. This is something that ghosts can innately do, and that we can learn to do. This place is already <em>yours</em>, Daniel. We’re just introducing ourselves. We’re just saying hello.”</p><p>“Just…saying hello…” he parrots.</p>
<hr/><p>Here’s how Vlad figured it out:</p><p>He’s sitting alone in his empty castle. He’s in the dead center of his house, because every last piece of writing he could find on the subject in the ghost zone agrees that a ghost starts in the middle. After that, what little is written about it isn’t very clear on the process. Like Romans and their formula for concrete, ghosts saw no need to establish how one went about claiming their territory. Why would they, when it’s natural and obvious to every last one of them? Why would they, when there would never be a being that would need to learn how?</p><p>Their literature mentions it in passing. There are a few fantasy books, romance novels really, that describe it as an awakening, or as a resonance. The most useful bit of information from an ancient encyclopedia he’d found tells him that all a ghost does is connect, and that’s the end of it.</p><p>He doesn’t dare ask a ghost. From what he’s gathered, they don’t have the words to explain it, and he’s worked hard to establish his reputation as someone who shouldn’t be questioned or crossed. He’s the only one of his kind, but that didn’t mean he was lacking in power or talent. He wouldn’t let a single one of them know how hard he worked to find out things they just <em>knew</em>. He’d never let any of them see his work as anything but effortless.</p><p>So, he sits in the middle of his empty castle, and <em>thinks</em>.</p><p>It’s been months since the last time he tried doing this. Those months were not idly spent, but the fruition of his labor has given way to only a single new idea. He’s not particularly excited about it, but until he rules it out, he can’t move forward.</p><p>So, he closes his eyes, and he visualizes his castle. By now, every detail is burned into his brain from countless hours of visually studying every room. He extends his energy outward, but as with every other time he’s tried it, nothing changes. This time, he’s trying to vibrate his core at the same frequency he knows a neutral core to vibrate at, with no discernible success. The process takes hours before he’s forced to give up.</p><p>And, as usual, he’s forced to give up.</p><p>Frustrated and tired, Vlad stretches out his cramping legs and tries to come at the problem from another perspective. Only…he’s not sure there <em>is</em> another perspective left. He’s tried everything he can think of and then some, and his house <em>still</em> feels like a stranger’s, and he still feels overwhelmed by how isolated and empty it is. He can’t help but remember that he purchased this castle <em>because</em> it was far away from prying eyes and <em>because </em>it was so big he could hide anything in it, but at times, Vlad can’t help but yearn for a knock on the door, a familiar face, a welcomed presence. It would be nice, he thinks, to recognize this place as <em>familiar</em>.</p><p>Something like an epiphany hits. A tentative, <em>stupid</em> idea that he’d ruled out on the theoretical level over a year ago as illogical. Since then, he’s learned that a lot of the things ghosts do don’t really make sense, at least in the face of his human scruples. At the very least, it’s worth a try.</p><p>Vlad sits up and slips back into his meditative position. He closes his eyes again and pictures his house. He walks up the driveway, careful not to disturb anything as he hikes up the steps and stops at the old oak doors at the front of his house.</p><p>He <em>knows</em> this place. It knows him. He’s just got to see to it that they introduce each other. And of course, there’s only one way to alert a household to his presence.</p><p>Vlad knocks on the door.</p>
<hr/><p>He can feel it the second Daniel figures it out.</p><p>The building…it doesn’t light up, or anything so grand. Something familiar but unknown becomes something familiar <em>and </em>known, and all of a sudden, it’s not just the building beneath them. It’s the streets around them, then other buildings. It’s Casper High and the surrounding communities, it’s parks and lakes and forests and more and more and more until Vlad stops keeping track entirely. Until it’s all of Amity Park, a giant circle that spreads from here to the city limits in all directions.</p><p>Instinctively, Daniel knows when he’s done. He stops knocking, and the both of them can feel the claim take hold in Amity Park. Vlad knows that it settles into Daniel’s bones with an ironclad certainty that he is <em>home</em>. No other place will feel quite like it, anymore.</p><p>“Whoa,” Daniel says, eyes wide as he floats up and surveys the area. “<em>Whoa</em>!”</p><p>“Indeed,” Vlad agrees. Daniel flies up a way, poking around the buildings like something new might pop out. There’s a giddy energy to him that’s contagious, and Vlad floats up from his sitting position and watches the teen get used to the feeling of knowing Amity Park like he does now. Vlad can hear him laughing and whooping as he swoops around, and it fills him with feelings he had forgotten.</p><p>“You should be able to sense ghosts in your territory. You’ll be able to pinpoint where they are with some practice. If you keep it up, you’ll start to be able to find humans you’re familiar with.”</p><p>“So, I’ll be able to find my parents if they’re out? Or Sam and Tucker?” Daniel asks, excitement flashing in his eyes. “That’s so cool!”</p><p>“Indeed,” Vlad says again. “Can you sense anything now?”</p><p>Daniel closes his eyes in concentration for a moment. Vlad waits, wondering if he’ll need a hint or if he’ll—</p><p>“The dog!” Daniel gasps excitedly. “He’s still in town! I—that is probably not good, actually.”</p><p>Daniel shoots back down like a rocket and plants feet in front of Vlad. He hasn’t seen Daniel look so carefree since he revealed he was a halfa. His face is open, unguarded. There’s a lightness to his step and a brightness in his eye that Vlad didn’t realize he’d missed.</p><p>“I—” Daniel catches Vlad’s eye, and his expression closes off for a moment.</p><p>Worry flitters through Vlad—what had he done to change the tone, had he been unconsciously doing something that set Daniel off…?</p><p>“Sorry,” Daniel says quickly. “I—uh, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you actually smile before.”</p><p>Vlad…doesn’t quite know what to make of that. It looks like Daniel’s indecisive about something.</p><p>“It’s…is it…” Daniel can’t seem to find the words, and Vlad, relief pooling in his gut, doesn’t want to cut him off and guess wrong. “Uh…whatever, are you <em>happy</em> I got it?”</p><p>“Why wouldn’t I—<em>yes</em>,” Vlad says firmly. “You did very well, Daniel. It’s a rather difficult concept for humans to grasp, and you took to it admirably.”</p><p>“You…explained it really well,” Daniel says. “So, uh…<em>thanks</em>. Y’know, for not being a jerk about it for once.”</p><p>Vlad nods. Daniel doesn’t say more, but he also doesn’t turn about and fly off. Vlad wonders if he’s hesitating because…</p><p>“There are a few other tricks that you might like to know,” Vlad says carefully. “If you’re interested.”</p><p>Daniel watches Vlad like he’s going to reach out and strike him if he’s not careful.</p><p>“What do you get out of it?” Daniel asks sharply. “You don’t just help people out of the goodness of your heart, Plasmius.”</p><p>Internally, Vlad sighs. He’s got reasons, but he doubts Daniel will believe them. Instead of offering them:</p><p>“There are only two of us in existence, Daniel,” he spins. “Even if we don’t agree personally, there is always a chance we might need to work together against a future enemy. I can’t risk the chance that something could come after you to learn about my weaknesses. If our <em>lovely</em> government or a ghost with some unknown agenda sets their sights on halfas, they’ll try to go for the weakest link. No offense meant, little badger, but at the moment, that means <em>you</em>. Can you really blame me for wanting a little insurance that you’ll be able to fend off an attack like that?”</p><p>Danny stares at him. Vlad wonders if he’ll accept the lie.</p><p>“I’m not gonna give up my dad or abandon my life just because you helped me. I will <em>never</em> do that, okay?” he says.</p><p>“And I’m not asking that of you,” Vlad says calmly. “Why don’t you think about my offer, and if you’re interested, I’ll meet you here—or better yet, come find me around this time tomorrow. It’ll be a good test of your new ability.”</p><p>Vlad turns, suddenly feeling the long day poking at his temples. He doesn’t even want to <em>think</em> about what the dog has probably done in his absence.</p><p>“Wait!”</p><p>Vlad stops, curious as to what Daniel might want. The scary eyes are out…well, maybe not so scary, at the moment. Determined might be a bit more accurate.</p><p>“I’m not trying to be ungrateful or anything, okay?” Daniel says. “But I mean it; if you’re gonna be staying here, <em>don’t</em> mess with my town.”</p><p>Vlad still has it in him to tease Daniel when he’s being dramatic.</p><p>“Is that any way to treat your first guest, Daniel?” he says with a Cheshire grin. “I’ll be expecting some kind of tour tomorrow, since you’re so set on being the welcoming committee.”</p><p>Daniel sets his jaw and crosses his arms.</p><p>“I mean it, Vlad,” he says. “Promise me you’ll chill out for once.”</p><p>Vlad raises his hands in surrender.</p><p>“Did you know I have a fire core?” Vlad says lightly. “It’s literally impossible for me to chill out, Daniel, you should know that by now. But…I’ll make an effort.”</p><p>Daniel throws an ectoblast his way, and Vlad can’t help it: the whole situation pulls a laugh out of his mouth. As Vlad teleports to avoid it, the laughter keeps bubbling up, and he can’t help but think that as he leaves, Daniel doesn’t look all too offended by the joke.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'd love to hear your feedback! Drop me a comment down below :D</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Fruition</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next day, he finds his laptop in one of the couch cushions.</p><p>It’s mostly intact, so he spends the morning cleaning it off before he does some work.</p><p>Or at least, he tries to. The dog is running around, not nearly so destructive in his presence, but still a hurricane of fur and slobber that makes it extremely difficult to focus. He doesn’t want to risk letting it go, nor is he in any mood to see it destroy his house again, so he stays put and tries to power through.</p><p>In the early afternoon, the dog plants itself at a particular spot at the shields and stays there. If it was a guard dog before (and Vlad is pretty sure that was the case) there’s likely some kind of unfinished business floating around that’s keeping it here. Vlad can’t imagine what that might be. What type of horrible accident keeps a dog around? What would it be able to do to rectify the situation? Perhaps he’ll look into it after he meets up with Daniel—that is, <em>if</em> Daniel decides to show up.</p><p>It’s nearly four when Vlad absolutely can’t stand the thing anymore. It’s been whining and scratching at the shields for the last twenty minutes, and Vlad has no idea <em>why</em>. Finally, when he can stand it no longer, Vlad puts away his laptop and stands. The dog is pointing in the same direction as it has been all day: straight at Axion Labs.</p><p>Vlad sighs and thinks about what he wants to do next. He’s got a few hours to kill before he’s supposed to go—maybe that’s enough time to pop over to Axion to see what it wants. He’s debating if he’ll have enough time when his core warns him a ghost is approaching; not so fast as to worry, but deliberately heading in his direction. Vlad doesn’t shift quite yet; at this distance, the ghost would definitely sense his presence, and he doesn’t want a <em>second</em> identity leak in the same week. It could just be passing through, or curious about the dog. He’ll play dumb until he knows what he’s up against.</p><p>The presence hovers right over his house. Vlad rolls his eyes and decides to pretend to read in case it pokes its head in. He sits on the couch and opens the cookbook he had left on the table, inwardly cursing himself for not picking more believable reading material. Above him, the ghost floats down through his ceiling. It’s invisible, or he’d be able to see it to his left. He can tell the second the ghost sees him, because it <em>gasps</em>, and Vlad can only think that the sound is familiar before <em>Daniel</em> becomes visible in the middle of his living room.</p><p>“<em>This</em> is where you’ve been?” he asks, waving his arms around wildly. “In the <em>suburbs</em>?”</p><p>“Were you expecting to find me in the sewers, Daniel?” Vlad asks, surprised to see him. He tosses the cookbook down on the coffee table and turns to look at him. “I thought we were meeting <em>later</em>.”</p><p>“Uh, yeah,” Daniel says. “I was actually looking for the dog.”</p><p>He doesn’t have to look far. Cujo bursts from the wall to his left and tackles Daniel to the floor, barking and licking his face in a whirlwind of friendly frenzy.</p><p>“Ahh! Get off!” Daniel says, half laughing, half complaining as he pushes the dog away. “You miss me, bud?”</p><p>The dog yips and sits on its haunches, head tilted to the side. Daniel pulls off his backpack and digs around in it. He pulls out a pink, fluffy bear, and gives it a squeeze.</p><p>The dog sees it and promptly loses its mind in excitement.</p><p>“You want the squeaky, boy?” Daniel asks it playfully, wiggling the toy around. “You want it?”</p><p>The dog barks, and Daniel tosses it the toy. With a satisfied sound, the dog catches the toy in its maw and, after a second of playing, wags its tail at Daniel and turns around. As it walks away, it disappears, its business clearly finished. Daniel, still smiling, turns to Vlad.</p><p>“I had some free time after school,” he says. “Since the dog was still here, I figured it wanted something from Axion. The toy was the only thing I found in the kennel they used to keep guard dogs.”</p><p>“You have a good intuition,” Vlad compliments. “And I see you’ve been testing out some of the benefits of claiming your territory. Did it take very long to track Cujo here?”</p><p>“I sensed him last night. I was wondering why he wasn’t moving around, but since no one was running around screaming about a ghost dog, I figured it was probably okay to deal with it today.”</p><p>Daniel gives him a curious look.</p><p>“Why were you keeping him here?” he asks, a noticeable lack of accusation in his tone.</p><p>Vlad shrugs. “I’m interested in purchasing Axion Labs. I didn’t want the dog interfering any further, and I thought you’d want to use your methods of handling ghosts rather than mine.”</p><p>Daniel gives him an odd look. “You… didn’t vaporize it because you thought I wouldn’t like it?”</p><p>Vlad rolls his eyes. “It’s considered rude to walk into someone’s house and start killing dogs, Daniel.”</p><p>“I’ll say,” Daniel says, shifting into his human form and walking into the kitchen. He opens the fridge and lets out a low whistle.</p><p>“Help yourself,” Vlad mutters. Daniel snorts, and Vlad can hear him rustling around, so he stands and goes over to a panel on the wall. A few button presses and the shields come down. He hears a shuffle of papers on the counter as Daniel pushes everything out of the way to make himself some space.</p><p>Vlad sits at the kitchen bar, watching as Daniel finishes making himself a sandwich. He’s neat about it; doesn’t get any crumbs anywhere, puts everything back where he found it, leaves the knife he used to spread mayonnaise in the dishwasher when he’s done. He wraps the sandwich in a square of paper towel and shifts back into his ghost form.</p><p>“See ya tonight, V-man!” Daniel says with a mischievous cackle, and Vlad sputters for long enough that Daniel is able to retreat, sandwich firmly in hand, before he recovers.</p><p>“Tonight,” Vlad agrees, and something a lot like joy settles in his chest.</p>
<hr/><p>“So, ghosts aren’t going to come around Amity anymore? At least, none of the small fry?”</p><p>“You’ve created a very firm deterrent,” Vlad says. They’re floating above Amity’s tallest building. “You’re inexperienced, but you’re no pushover, Daniel. Any ghost that comes close to this area will know that they’ll have to fight you if they don’t get your permission to be here. The weaker ghosts will likely avoid this area entirely. The stronger ones…well, you’ll have them at a disadvantage, and a ghost would have to be pretty sure of their strength to attack a ghost in his own territory.”</p><p>Daniel seems to think about it for a moment. “So it’s not a guarantee that ghosts will stay away…but it’s a step in the right direction.”</p><p>“A very useful step in the right direction,” Vlad agrees. “It’ll open up your schedule considerably.”</p><p>He makes another clone and sends it out in human form somewhere in the city. When it morphs, Daniel needs to pinpoint where it is before it disappears. When a clone disperses and the leftover energy returns to him, he can tell if Daniel is correct or not.</p><p>The clone pops, for lack of a better word, and Daniel screws his eyes closed in concentration.</p><p>“Dean Street,” he says after a few seconds. “Dean and University.”</p><p>He’s right.</p><p>“Very good,” Vlad says approvingly. “You’re getting faster. We’ll try two at a time, now.”</p><p>He makes two more clones and sends them off. Daniel watches them leave very carefully.</p><p>“Clones are pretty cool,” Daniel says casually. Vlad’s seen him eying him while he makes clones, likely trying to figure how to work the process out.</p><p>“Oh?” Vlad asks, equally casually.</p><p>“Yeah,” Daniel says awkwardly, when Vlad doesn’t say anything more. “Did it take you a while to learn how to make them?”</p><p>“Nearly three years,” Vlad says idly. At the rate Daniel’s mastering tracking, it’ll probably take him a few weeks, maybe a month or two, to understand cloning himself.</p><p>“And now you can make them whenever you want?”</p><p>“Whenever I want,” Vlad confirms. “Nearly a hundred of them, although <em>that</em> many is still draining.”</p><p>The clones shift. Daniel thinks for a moment.</p><p>“One on Shelton and Burbank,” he says after a pause. “The other…Jefferson and Flamingo?”</p><p>“Jefferson and Brie,” Vlad corrects. “But not far off.”</p><p>He makes two more clones, and the process starts again.</p><p>“So is it like, a hundred of you appear at once?” Daniel asks. “Or do you split like a cell divides?”</p><p>“Like a cell dividing,” Vlad says.</p><p>“Cool,” Daniel says, about as far away from casual as can be.</p><p>They wait in silence for a moment.</p><p>“So how is school going?” Vlad asks.</p><p>Daniel groans.</p><p>“That bad?” Vlad asks casually.</p><p>Daniel groans again. “Lancer’s class is killing me. At least after this week, there’s only a quarter left for the year.”</p><p>“Like I said, you should have more free time now,” Vlad says. “I can’t say I’m particularly envious of your situation. <em>My</em> accident happened during my last semester. By the time I came to in the hospital, I had already graduated.”</p><p>“Just three more years,” Daniel says. “Then…four more, if I can actually get in anywhere.”</p><p> “You’ll get in,” Vlad says evenly.</p><p>“We’ll see.”</p><p>There’s a quality to his voice that makes Vlad feel just the slightest bit sad. Daniel genuinely doesn’t think any college will have him. It’s…it’s a damn shame, that he feels like that. He’s smart as a whip, able to pick up new concepts within minutes that had taken Vlad weeks to understand. He’s passionate about becoming an astronaut, and while it might not be feasible now that he’s a halfa, he could still have a bright career in anything he was wanted. If he even showed the slightest interest in a particular, Vlad could have him set up with a full ride <em>anywhere</em>. Hell, he could just pay the tuition itself, if Daniel let him.</p><p>The clones pop.</p><p>“Sunbee and Main, and the other one is on Davenport heading north,” Daniel says, much faster than last time.</p><p>“Very good; the movement didn’t trip you up,” Vlad says. He makes three clones this time, and Daniel watches very carefully as they fly off.</p><p>The problem is, Daniel won’t take that kind of charity. He’s made it clear time and time again that he won’t take anything Vlad offers freely if he thinks it comes with a catch. And if he thinks he can’t do it on his own, there’s no way in the world he’s going to be able to muster up the motivation to try.</p><p>Vlad watches Daniel carefully for a moment, and an idea takes hold…no one ever said help had to be offered freely. If Daniel think Vlad is doing something for a reason, he’s less likely to resist the help. Vlad hasn’t cultivated a persona of an underhand bastard for nothing, and Daniel succeeding out of spite is better than him failing. Perhaps it’s time to push a little.</p><p>“I’ll make you a deal, Daniel,” Vlad says out of the blue.</p><p>“What kind of deal?” Daniel asks, instantly suspicious.</p><p>“I’ll teach you how to make clones,” Vlad starts, and Daniel’s eyes light up, “If you get straight A’s this last grading period.”</p><p>Daniel slouches, a discouraged frown on his face.</p><p>“You’re making fun of me,” he accuses.</p><p>“I’m absolutely not,” Vlad says sharply. “This is well within your capabilities.”</p><p>“I’m so far behind!” Daniel says. “There’s no way I can catch up!”</p><p>“Not only can you catch up,” Vlad argues, “you can excel.”</p><p>“You just don’t want to show me how to make clones,” Daniel accuses.</p><p>“I’ve given you a path to learn,” Vlad says. “If you stick to the terms, so will I. But I won’t do it for anything less than perfection.”</p><p>Daniel glares at him. Vlad can guess where he’s at, mentally. Daniel thinks that Vlad thinks it’s impossible. It’s a safe way to offer to teach him a really cool trick and put the onus of failure on Daniel’s shoulders. He could wash his hands of teaching Daniel how to clone and call it Daniel’s fault for not doing his part. Some part of Daniel even thinks that Vlad’s doing it to rub in his face how stupid he is.</p><p>But Vlad sees the determination in his eyes, the desire to prove Vlad wrong. It’s pushed him so far already, and Vlad thinks that it won’t hurt to put this kind of drive to good use, even if the means are a bit unfair.</p><p>Vlad knows that Daniel will say yes. It’s time to ensure success. Vlad continues, “I’ll even make it more palatable for you, if you’re so unsure you can win. You can ask anyone for any help you might need. If you need extra tutoring or help understanding something, I won’t even consider it cheating.”</p><p>“Asking for help is <em>not</em> cheating!” Daniel argues immediately.</p><p>“Well then, you should have no problem winning out bet,” Vlad says. “I’m sure you’ll do whatever it takes.”</p><p>“I’m <em>not</em> gonna actually <em>cheat</em>, if that’s what you mean.”</p><p>“I didn’t think you would,” Vlad says, and means it.</p><p>Daniel balls his fists. The clones pop.</p><p>Immediately, he growls, “Two right next to each other on Vern and Brussel; the last one you reabsorbed when you thought I wasn’t paying attention. And you’re <em>on</em>, Plasmius.”</p><p>“Wonderful,” Vlad says, making sure to put on an air of smug satisfaction. “It’s a bet.”</p><p>Vlad makes four more clones, and they keep practicing.</p>
<hr/><p>About a week later, Vlad decides to do a deep cleaning of his house. He keeps finding dog hair in his food, and he’s sick of it. He spends the day scrubbing, sweeping, mopping, and just tidying up. It’s not exactly cold outside, but he opens all the windows and airs the house out anyway.</p><p>Try as he might, he can’t find his list for Daniel. Over the course of its stay, the dog had gotten into several stacks of paper, and it’s clear the list didn’t survive contact with the mutt. He doesn’t bother re-writing it; clearly, it was optimistic at best to write down a neat little list of incredibly complex facets of relationship building, and he’s seen enough success with winging it that he doesn’t miss its absence.</p><p>And…it <em>is</em> success, or at least the beginnings of it. Vlad doesn’t want to think too hard about what he’s doing; he <em>knows</em> he’ll over plan and come off as suspicious if he does.</p><p>Still…as he finishes cleaning, he finds that he still wants to do <em>something</em>. He feels under dressed without a plan, and so he decides to put the energy into something Daniel might appreciate more.</p><p>He pulls up an older training regimen of his and starts adapting it to Daniel’s needs. At least this way, if his ex-nemesis comes around, he’ll have something to do.</p>
<hr/><p>A few days after his deep clean, Vlad is nearly finished running some errands. Part of him knows he <em>needs</em> to make a decision regarding his company soon. He’s been away for nearly two weeks already, and while his presence isn’t necessary, his company has come to expect it. He’s been getting hints from some of the board members (subtly, of course) that they’re expecting him back or expecting him to assign a replacement for however long he’ll be gone. There’s not much they can do to force him to come back (the beauty of owning the majority of his company), but he’d rather they not get to the point that they feel like they need to try to intervene.</p><p>He’s got a shortlist of people who would be able to (temporarily) take over for him, and all he would need to do is pull the metaphorical trigger to get the process started.</p><p>Still…Vlad is hesitant about the whole thing. If he went forward with stepping away, he’d have to come to terms that there was a <em>reason</em> he invested so much of himself into his company. Vlad’s not obtuse by nature, but there are certain aspects of his behavior that he chooses not to analyze too deeply, and this is one of them. He doesn’t even know if stepping away will be worth it, in the end. If Daniel decides he’s better off without Vlad in his life…well, suffice to say, he’s unsure if the change will be worth it in the end.</p><p>He’s unloading groceries from his car when he hears movement from his house. There are muffled voices and foot fall coming from within, and Vlad pauses as he tries to make sense of it. For a moment, he thinks that he must have driven to the wrong house but—no, the address is right. There’s someone in his house. He wonders if the press finally found him here, but he doesn’t think it’s the case. He’s never been high priority for media outlets; his success has afforded him some amount of fame, but not nearly enough to bring reporters to his door just because he’s in a different town.</p><p>Vlad gets to the door and goes invisible as he phases through it. No sense in alerting whoever’s inside to his presence, now.</p><p>“—project’s not due for a few weeks, but if you want to, be my guest,” a familiar voice says, although Vlad can’t pin where he’s heard it.</p><p>“Lancer’s assigned it this early for a reason, Tuck,” Daniel says, and Vlad realizes that he’s brought his friends over. To <em>Vlad’s</em> house. Without asking, which isn’t like him for multiple reasons. “Vlad’s here, by the way.”</p><p>With his cover blown, he turns visible and enters the kitchen. Daniel’s leaning back on the island while both of his friends sit at the bar, turned to face him. Daniel looks a lot calmer than his friends, who immediately glare daggers as he walks into his own kitchen.</p><p>“I haven’t heard from you since we made our bet, you know,” Vlad says dryly. With little else to do, he starts putting away food. A clone steps out of his body and goes to get the rest of his groceries. He clocks Daniel’s envious look and the surprise from both of his friends. He’d forgotten they’d never seen him use his powers before. “And now, not only do you break into my house, you encourage others to do the same. I’m simply shocked, Daniel.”</p><p>The clone comes back in, arms full of groceries. Daniel rolls his eyes and pushes off the counter to give it space, revealing the sandwich he’d been eating.</p><p>“Are they not feeding you enough?” the clone asks.</p><p>“Clearly not, if he feels no shame in stealing my food,” Vlad answers.</p><p>“I’m ‘ungry,” Daniel says, taking another bite of sandwich. “Besides, you have plenty of stuff in the fridge.”</p><p>“This is so confusing,” Tucker says from the bar.</p><p>Vlad makes a second clone in response, and Tucker groans.</p><p>“While your company is as charming as ever,” the second clone says, picking up both Sam and Tucker’s empty plates and dropping them into the dishwasher, “you still haven’t mentioned <em>why</em> you’ve requisitioned my house today.”</p><p>“Group ‘roject,” Daniel says around another bite. He swallows and after a swig of water, continues, “you said I could ask for any help I needed.”</p><p>“I…did,” Vlad acknowledges, looking between Daniel and his friends, who are nodding in agreement with Daniel. “I just didn’t think you’d ask <em>me</em>.”</p><p>“By any means necessary, right?” Daniel asks slyly, like he’s trapped Vlad in a corner. He puts out a hand expectantly. “I need help buying supplies for a group project.”</p><p>The first clone takes one look at Vlad’s baffled face and cracks up. He blasts it into oblivion and looks back at Daniel’s smug grin.</p><p>“Tell me about the project, first,” Vlad says, because there is absolutely <em>no way </em>he’s handing three teenagers money without knowing why.</p><p>Daniel opens his mouth.</p><p>“Ms. Manson, why don’t you start,” his remaining clone says. She’s been very quiet this whole time, and he wonders if he knows the reason why.</p><p>“It’s for English,” she says quickly. “We have to make a video reenacting a scene from Macbeth, and <em>they</em> want to go all out.”</p><p>“Danny’s gonna be the ghost of the guy Macbeth kills,” Tucker cuts in, “since he’s got the special effects built in.”</p><p>Vlad could probably summon up the affront needed to lecture him about the necessity of keeping their identities secret, but honestly…he doesn’t want to ruin the fun Daniel is clearly having, especially if the excitement is focused on school. The clone, out of view of the teenagers, is giving him a look that does not bode well for its longevity. Vlad sighs.</p><p>“And I don’t need to remind you to make sure that there is no possible way to connect a floating Fenton to Phantom, correct?”</p><p>“Nope,” Daniel says, and wiggles his fingers. “Help now, please!”</p><p>Vlad sighs again.</p><p>“And <em>none </em>of your parents can assist in this at all?” Vlad asks, flashing a meaningful look at Ms. Manson. All three shake their heads, Samantha the most vigorous of the group. Ms. Manson’s is accompanied by another glare, and his suspicion is proven correct: he <em>has </em>met her parents. Her <em>very </em>affluent parents, who are about the farthest thing from dark and gloomy that he’s ever seen in both personality and lifestyle. He’s sure their help rarely comes free of expectations, and he doubts Daniel would appreciate it if he put his friend in an uncomfortable position.</p><p>“Fine,” Vlad says with a sigh. He goes for his wallet, not even bothering to ask how much Daniel needs. He genuinely doesn’t want to know. He pulls out the card with the lowest credit line he has and hands it to the teenager. His smile is a thing that inspires fear for Vlad’s credit score. “I expect that back at your earliest convenience.”</p><p> “<em>Yes</em>, thank you!” Daniel says, attention fully on the card in his hands. Without looking, he summons his bag and slings it over his shoulder.</p><p>The other teens grab their backpacks and follow behind him, not-so-subtly high fiving each other out the door.</p><p>“You’re really becoming a pushover,” his clone says conversationally once the door shuts behind them. “You didn’t even give him a limit.”</p><p>He blasts it out of existence and returns to his groceries.</p>
<hr/><p>It takes a week, but Daniel returns his card.</p><p>They’re trading banter—Vlad is purposefully <em>not</em> asking for receipts, and Daniel is trying to force them into his hand like he knows Vlad’s blood pressure will rise if he looks at what he spent.</p><p>“But Daniel, why would I <em>ever</em> even assume you were anything but completely respectful with my money?” Vlad says.</p><p>“I’m just saying dude, you should take a look—make sure they didn’t charge you twice for something.”</p><p>“How could they, under your watchful eye?” he asks. “I know you’d demand to see a manager if whatever poor employee that helped you incorrectly scanned even an extra packet of gum.”</p><p>“What if they charged state tax for the wrong state though? What if they charged you like you were in California? You could be broke now, Vlad! You’ll have to sell all of your suits and live on a farm!”</p><p>“Daniel, be reasonable; if I didn’t have any money, I’d be in prison.”</p><p>“All the more reason to make sure they didn’t take everything you own!”</p><p>He practically shoves the receipts into Vlad’s hands, and finally, Vlad takes a look. He goes over the amounts carefully, sees that Daniel bought a camera along with a few props and other project essentials…and dinner, for himself and his friends. He hadn’t even cracked a thousand dollars. Vlad had been ready for him to max the card out.</p><p>Vlad narrows his eyes and keeps looking at the receipts. Daniel actually looks a little unsure now, like maybe it <em>was</em> a big deal that he spent so much money even though Daniel could spend a hundred times that every day and Vlad would never notice a difference.</p><p>“Daniel,” Vlad says, the hint of a threat in his voice.</p><p>“Yeah?” Daniel asks, some of the cheer leaving his voice.</p><p>Vlad makes eye contact.</p><p>“I can’t read print this size without my glasses.”</p><p>“Huh—<em>yes you can</em>!” Daniel says indignantly, but Vlad catches the hint of a smile as the excitement returns.</p><p>“I absolutely cannot,” Vlad says adamantly. “It’s actually the only thing that gaining ghost powers made worse for me.”</p><p>“No way, cheese head!”</p><p>“I’m being serious, Daniel,” Vlad jokes solemnly. “It’s a monkey’s paw situation. This was the ironic twist of being given such grand powers—I now literally <em>can’t</em> read the fine print.”</p><p>“Your jokes suck, V-man!” Daniel says. “How could that possibly—”</p><p>Daniel’s head tilts slightly as he cuts the sentence short. It takes a moment, but Vlad suddenly feels it too.</p><p>“A ghost just came through the portal,” Daniel says, bright rings encircling his waist as he speaks.</p><p>Vlad might be crazy, but the words sound more like an invitation than a dismissal.</p><p>“By all means,” Vlad says, shifting into Plasmius. “Lead the way.”</p>
<hr/><p>(The ghost that comes through seems like she was a lot stronger than what Danny was used to, but she split pretty quickly when <em>both</em> of them showed up to the abandoned garage she had decided to use as a base. Danny has never seen a ghost play a <em>guitar</em> before, but Vlad mentions it isn’t uncommon for ghosts to use weapons, and creativity was often the only limitation when it came to what a ghost could fight with.)</p>
<hr/><p>Another few days, and they’re in the middle of an impromptu target practice.</p><p>Daniel’s aim improves remarkably fast and they quickly move on to making and fighting with spectral weapons after Daniel remarks that being able to sword fight would be ‘pretty cool’.</p>
<hr/><p>Vlad comes home one evening to see Daniel sitting at the kitchen bar, pouring over a book. He’s munching idly on a sandwich and doesn’t do more than grunt when he hears Vlad come in.</p><p>Vlad doesn’t say much either. He <em>is</em> hungry though, and he knows Daniel will be <em>very</em> vocal if he can’t concentrate, so he starts cooking. He moves pots and pans and takes out ingredients. He eyes Daniel, but the teen doesn’t look particularly bothered by the noise, so he turns his attention on dinner.</p><p>It’s a <a href="https://www.hellofresh.com/recipes/silky-sicilian-penne-5eb9b34d36d39e6793241829?week=2020-W26">simple pasta dish</a> he’s made a hundred times, and he flies through the prep work and sets the water to boil. It’s a fast recipe, and he’s got a portion in a bowl in less than a half hour. He’s about to take a bite, when he realizes that Daniel is still at the counter. He sets his bowl down and grabs another from the cabinet.</p><p>Daniel looks up when he sets the warm bowl down in front of him and wordlessly picks it up and takes a bite, his eyes quickly back to scanning the page in front of him. He stops suddenly as if realizing something. Vlad watches his eyes dart to the bowl and then back at Vlad.</p><p>“Too much salt?” Vlad asks. He thought it might be the case. Maybe Daniel would prefer another sandwich?</p><p>“This is…<em>good</em>.” Daniel says, taking another bite. And another. And <em>another</em>.</p><p>Vlad wordlessly picks up his own bowl and starts eating. He’s only about halfway finished when Daniel presents him a clean bowl, eyes darting between Vlad and the pot the rest of the food sits. Vlad gives him another bowlful and again, Daniel cleans it.</p><p>When he’s done, Daniel goes back to his book. If Vlad remembers correctly, he mentioned a biology test in the next few days, and a glance at the book confirms he’s going over cellular respiration.</p><p>Vlad cleans up and puts away the leftovers. He takes Daniel’s bowl as soon as he’s done, nodding at the muffled thanks he receives.</p><p>Daniel doesn’t leave right away, still content to read at the bar. Vlad eventually settles at the kitchen table, going over a few projects he’d been wanting to vet. He finds another email from a board member, requesting direct supervision on the company merger with Axion, and Vlad finds that he’s hesitant to agree.</p><p>Daniel mutters something under his breath at bar, and Vlad can hear him flip back a few pages to reread something.</p><p>Vlad pens a response, taking great care to smooth any ruffled feathers and CC’s the VP he just promoted to acting CEO on the thread. He closes his laptop and shuts off his phone before the deluge of emails and calls comes through. He’ll deal with the fallout tomorrow. For now, he stands and wanders over to the island.</p><p>“Let’s see,” Vlad says, gesturing for the book.</p><p>Daniel hands him the text with no complaint. Vlad flips through it quickly, before looking at Daniel.</p><p>“You need a break,” he says. “Let’s practice energy redirection, and I’ll quiz you.”</p><p>“Okay,” Daniel says gratefully.</p><p>For a few hours, they shift between the Krebs Cycle and turning hostile energy into something that can be used against an enemy, and by the end of it, not only does Daniel know how to redirect energy, he knows how cells do it, too.</p>
<hr/><p>Vlad doesn’t see Daniel do it, but he comes home one day to find an A+ history paper stuck to his fridge.</p>
<hr/><p>Daniel tracks him down to Axion Labs and enters the lobby just as Vlad is greeting one of Axion’s major stakeholders, the CEO who could very easily lose his position should he prove a poor fit for Vlad’s company. While Vlad isn’t in charge of the process, he mentioned he was close to Axion, and the board had asked him to take a formal tour of the facilities and let them know what he thought.</p><p>Daniel strolls right up to both of them, a wide grin on his face, and Vlad nearly blows his calm, business-like façade when Daniel promptly butts into the conversation and takes the hand Vlad had been reaching toward to give the Axion CEO a hearty handshake.</p><p>“Nice to meet you, mister,” Daniel says. Vlad rests a hand on Daniel’s shoulder and stops the Axion CEO from calling security immediately.</p><p>“And this is my nephew, Daniel,” Vlad says. “I suppose he’ll be joining us this afternoon, if it’s no imposition.”</p><p>The Axion CEO would clearly like nothing less, but he nods stiffly and beckons them both to follow him.</p><p>Daniel plays the part of a perfect brat, doing his absolute best to make Axion’s CEO break and snap at him. He asks too many questions. He bumps into things. He interrupts researchers when he wants to learn about their projects. There are quite a few close calls, especially when Daniel starts going up to stoic guards to ‘practice his set for the school talent show’, but the CEO’s desire to maintain his current lifestyle outweighs the growing ulcer Daniel’s presence is forming in his stomach.</p><p>The reason Vlad allows (and at times, even enables) this behavior? It’s clear that Daniel’s not trying to screw anything up for Vlad; multiple times, he looks back in the middle of a bit and grins, and it takes more self-control than he cares to admit to keep from breaking character and laughing.</p><p>By the end of it, he can tell the Axion CEO is trying to rush them out, and Vlad takes pity and allows the CEO to fly by the last part of the facilities tour as they approach the exit.</p><p>“—and if you have any further inquiries, we at Axion are happy to assist,” the CEO says.</p><p>“Oh, can we come back again, Uncle Vlad?” Daniel asks excitedly.</p><p>Vlad makes a show of asking silent permission from the CEO, like he couldn’t just waltz in whenever he wanted and demand something unreasonable and unplanned from them. The CEO nods stiffly. There’s something dark and far away in his eyes.</p><p>“Whenever you want, little badger,” Vlad says, and Daniel lets out a cheer far too loud for social convention. Vlad watches as the soul of Axion’s CEO withers before his eyes. “We’ll see you again soon, Alexander. Thank you for your hospitality.”</p><p>As they walk to the parking lot, Vlad can’t help but ask why Daniel had wanted to come with him.</p><p>“In physics we’re learning about stress testing,” Daniel says, eyes far too big for him to be doing anything other than lying through his teeth. “I wanted to see it in practice.”</p><p>Daniel isn’t in a physics class this year.</p><p>“Of course, little badger,” he says indulgently. Vlad’s never been indulgent before. “Let me know if you ever need another practical demonstration.”</p>
<hr/><p>Another week passes, and there’s a near-perfect math test next to the history paper.</p>
<hr/><p>They find out Daniel’s got an ice core by accident. Vlad spends the next forty-eight hours furiously writing a training plan that is momentarily forgotten when he wakes up to his entire house buried in snow.</p><p>Incidentally, this is how Vlad demonstrates to Daniel how useful a fire core can be.</p>
<hr/><p>Another ghost comes to town, riding a motorcycle with a shadow he can send to fight in his place. Vlad sits on the sidelines as Daniel makes short work them both.</p><p>He <em>does</em> give Daniel a lecture about the dangers of black ice and reminds him that he’ll need to make sure the roads are clear the next time he decides to see if a ghost bike needs the same amount of traction on the road as a human bike.</p><p>Johnny 13 doesn’t stop complaining about his totaled bike until Daniel hastily throws him back into the ghost zone, so he thinks the message is well received.</p>
<hr/><p>Daniel is studying at the kitchen bar when Vlad notices something.</p><p>“I didn’t give you that, did I?” he asks, eyes flickering to the slowly fading bruise right under his eye.</p><p>“No,” Daniel says quickly.</p><p>“And neither did a ghost?”</p><p>Daniel shakes his head. Vlad gives him a look. Daniel meets his eyes in challenge, daring him to continue.</p><p>Vlad doesn’t insult him by asking about his family.</p><p>“You’re allowed to defend yourself, you know,” Vlad says instead. “It doesn’t matter if they’re human or ghost. You don’t need to get hurt just because you can hurt someone back. It’s not your job to be someone else’s punching bag just because you can take it. There’s not a damn thing in this world that can hurt you unless you let it.”</p><p>Daniel gives him an odd look. “<em>You</em> can still hurt me,” he says.</p><p>Vlad meets his eyes.</p><p>“I’m not so sure,” he replies.</p>
<hr/><p>Amity Park is a relatively small town. In hindsight, he can’t believe it took this long to run into one of the other Fentons in public.</p><p>“VLADDIE!” Jack shouts, pulling him into a hug before Vlad even realizes he’s there. “I didn’t know you were in town!”</p><p>“Hi, Jack,” Vlad says as Jack puts him down. “How are you?”</p><p>Vlad turns and looks at Jack’s beaming face. It’s…almost alarming, that lack of familiar anger. It’s like a hole in his chest has finally been filled, and as he looks at his former best friend, he feels…free.</p><p>Jack rambles on for a bit, looking beyond happy to see him, and…Vlad wonders what it was about Jack that rubbed him the wrong way for such a long time.</p><p>“Jack,” he says, checking his watch. “I hate to cut this short, but I’ve got to go. I’ve got a meeting soon that I can’t miss.”</p><p>Jack visibly deflates, and hastily, Vlad says, “we could catch up tonight? My treat? I’ll text you the details.”</p><p>The smile Jack shoots him is blinding.</p>
<hr/><p>Daniel’s never knocked on his door before.</p><p>He opens it to find not just Daniel, but his friends as well. Samantha is cradling her backpack in front of her like she’s afraid she’ll drop it. Next to her, Tucker holds a white plastic bag. Daniel reaches for the bag Samantha has and holds it open, a ginger look on his face.</p><p>“Can you keep her until we find her a home?” he asks.</p><p>Inside is a small white kitten, so young it hasn’t opened its eyes.</p><p>“A cat,” he acknowledges. He’s not sure what else to say.</p><p>“My parents don’t want pets that can get into their experiments,” Daniel says. “Tucker’s dad is allergic, and—”</p><p>“—and <em>my</em> mom doesn’t do fur,” Samantha growls with a roll of her eyes.</p><p>“And you’re looking for a home that isn’t <em>my</em> home, correct?” he has to ask.</p><p>“Yes!” Daniel says quickly, and all three of them look at him hopefully.</p><p>“So this is a <em>temporary</em> situation?” he asks, knowing the battle is already lost. Vlad massages the bridge of his nose. He knows full well three teenagers are <em>not</em> going to have the time to rehome <em>or</em> take care of a cat, especially one so young. By the looks on their faces, it seems like they’d much prefer the cat to stick around and think they’ve found the perfect solution.</p><p>“And…does it have a name?” he asks a bit helplessly as Daniel dips his hands into the backpack and pulls out the kitten. He deposits it into his arms. The cat purrs, and Vlad feels the last of his admittedly pathetic resistance crumble.</p><p>All three of them say at once:</p><p>“Ophelia!”</p><p>“Noodle!”</p><p>“Uh, after an astronaut?”</p><p>Vlad sighs deeply.</p><p>“Ophelia it is,” he says, already regretting the decision.</p><p>Samantha cheers, and the three rush in to set up the kitten with everything it needs for the night.</p><p>They leave him a list of what to buy in the morning.</p>
<hr/><p>Vlad can’t believe how quickly his schedule is filling. He works in the morning when there’s something pressing, but it’s a drastically reduced load from what he’s used to; if his schedule is clear, he runs errands and makes plans for Daniel’s training. He takes up jogging, he invests too much money on the cat, he invites Jack out to play pool or fish, like they used to do in college. When the fancy strikes him, he invents.</p><p>Daniel swings by more often than not, and more and more often, he brings his friends. He learns more about them and is glad that Daniel has people in his life his trusts.</p><p>He trains with Daniel, he meets his neighbors, he gets more involved with the community. He does stupid, silly little things like coo at babies and tell bad jokes, and it doesn’t make him feel like he’s demeaning himself anymore. For the first time since he became a half-ghost, Vlad doesn’t feel the ever-present crush of obsession closing in, doesn’t even notice it in the moments he has to himself anymore.</p><p>He’s sleeping through the night. Vlad doesn’t remember the last time he slept through the night before coming to Amity Park, and now it happens every night.</p><p>It’s absolutely baffling, that <em>this</em> is what it took. He’d worked so hard for so long trying to find some way to slake the loneliness, and all he’d ever needed to do…was this.</p><p>Vlad thinks that what he’s building here might be humble… but it’s <em>good</em>.</p>
<hr/><p>…</p><p>…</p><p>…</p><p>And then, like all good things, it comes to an end.</p>
<hr/><p>Vlad’s at the dining room table, going over some meeting notes he’d requested the day before. It’s nothing urgent, but it’s something he likes to do to keep on top of things. As usual, there isn’t much that requires his direct attention, but that’s why he checks to begin with.</p><p>He’s so engrossed in what he’s doing, he doesn’t sense Daniel until the boy's phasing through the door, yelling incoherently. For a brief moment, Vlad thinks he’s being chased, and he’s about to morph when Daniel slams a piece of paper down right in front of him.</p><p>It’s a report card. Vlad can read Daniel’s name at the top, but his hand is covering the grades. Vlad stares at it, stunned. He hadn’t realized so much time had passed since their little bet.</p><p>“You remember our deal?” Daniel asks. He’s a bundle of barely contained excitement.</p><p>“I remember,” Vlad says. This excitement can only mean one thing. Vlad can feel the corners of his lips curling in amusement already.</p><p>“You said if I get all A’s this nine weeks, you’ll teach me how to make clones,” Daniel reminds him anyway.</p><p>“So I did,” Vlad says, trying to smother a chuckle.</p><p>Daniel removes his hand and points at the paper. “Boom!” he exclaims. “Clone time!”</p><p>Vlad picks up the paper and makes a show of studying it. Sure enough, Daniel came through. He achieved all A’s this nine weeks, and it significantly boosts his final grades for the year. He knows how incredibly hard Daniel worked, and a part of him is so relieved it all worked out he has to take a moment to appreciate the results in front of him.</p><p>“Hold on, let me get my glasses,” Vlad says, reaching into his pocket as Daniel groans.</p><p>“I <em>know</em> you don’t need glasses, dude!” Daniel yells, grabbing his arm and shaking it away from his pocket. “You see? All A’s! Time to pay up!”</p><p>Vlad puts the report card down and stands up. He can’t help but smile. Daniel’s only been out of school for a few minutes. He flew straight here because he wanted to show <em>Vlad</em> his report card first. He’s beyond touched right now. Vlad puts a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>“You did an excellent job, Daniel,” he says, making sure Daniel hears what he says. “I know it wasn’t easy, especially after the year you’ve had. I’m proud of you, son.”</p><p>They both hear the slip immediately. Vlad pulls his hand away like he burned it.</p><p>For a moment, they both are absolutely silent.</p><p>Then, Daniel turns on a dime and vanishes in a heartbeat.</p><p>Vlad doesn’t know what else to do.</p><p>He follows.</p>
<hr/><p>Daniel’s gotten faster. Vlad nearly loses him over the city and has to teleport a few times to outpace him. He doesn’t manage to get in front of him until they’re far from civilization, finally forcing him down at Amity’s city limit.</p><p>Thankfully, Daniel doesn’t immediately start shooting at him, but he can tell it’s a near thing.</p><p>“I can’t believe I fell for it,” Daniel says almost conversationally. If it weren’t for the tension in his shoulders and the way his hands shake, Vlad could mistake him for calm. “You know, I really forgot that the other shoe was gonna drop.”</p><p>Vlad scrambles to salvage the situation.</p><p>“I—Daniel, what I meant was—”</p><p>He stops short as Daniel shrugs off his backpack and starts digging. Nearly at the bottom, he finds what he’s looking for and yanks it out.</p><p>It’s a list of thirteen steps. It’s written in Vlad’s handwriting.</p><p>He’d assumed the dog had eaten it months ago. All but one of the steps is crossed out. Number 13—Don’t let Daniel find out—is circled.</p><p>“You followed all the steps,” Daniel says. There’s a pitch in his voice that Vlad’s never heard before. “I’ve been keeping track.”</p><p>“Daniel, this isn’t some—”</p><p>“What I don’t get,” Daniel says louder, and Vlad goes quiet, “is <em>why</em>. I <em>told</em> you I wasn’t gonna leave my life behind. I <em>told </em>you I’d never give up my parents or my friends. You <em>agreed</em> with me. So why did you even bother doing all of this?”</p><p>“You think I did this to…to win you over?” Vlad whispers. “To convince you to come back to Wisconsin with me?”</p><p>“Well, why<em> else </em>would you be nice to me?” Daniel asks. “Why else would you stick around? You <em>always</em> want something.”</p><p>Anger, incandescent fury, rises up within him.</p><p>“Spell it out for me,” Vlad hisses.</p><p>Daniel stops short. It’s been a long time since he’s heard Vlad get mad, and some pitifully petty part of Vlad remembers how <em>fun</em> it could be, when someone <em>else</em> was scared.</p><p>“Tell me what diabolical plan I’ve concocted,” Vlad continues. “Lay all the pieces out.”</p><p>Daniel looks frustrated, but he says, “you started listening to me. You helped me with Amity Park. You started taking my ideas seriously. You don’t treat me like I’m stupid anymore. You started assigning me stuff to do. You helped me with Spectra and Cujo and the other ghosts that came through.”</p><p>Daniel gives him a long, piercing look.</p><p>“Why would you do <em>any</em> of that? We’re still enemies, I think? We never said we weren’t. I never disowned my dad or said I’d help you marry my mom. I never even promised to be your son. Why are you doing this? Why are you being <em>nice</em>?”</p><p>Daniel sounds betrayed. There’s a wobble in his voice that drains the anger out of Vlad in an instant. All he’s left with is shame.</p><p>“Daniel…”</p><p>They’re at an impasse here, because Vlad’s whole plan from the beginning was to make sure Daniel never actually found <em>out</em> what Vlad was trying to do. He finds that he can’t say anything, can’t really muster the <em>desire</em> to try to say anything to defend himself.</p><p>He’s put in an earnest effort. He’s tried to make up for how he acted. He’s—there’s actually still something left he needs to do. Two things, now that he thinks about it.</p><p>“Maddie and Jack deserve each other,” he says. “I’m not interested in interfering with their relationship any further. I didn’t do any of this because I wanted to trick you into joining me. I did it because… because I heard what your mother said to you, that first night we crossed paths at Axion.”</p><p>“Yeah?” Daniel asks, eyes narrowing, anger clear in his tone. “What about it?”</p><p>Vlad wants to take it back, wants to lie or obfuscate or say <em>anything</em> other than the one thing that will drive Daniel away from him forever, but he <em>can’t</em>. Looking back, it was crossing a line; it was malicious, it was <i>unfair</i> that he'd witnessed what transpired that night.</p><p>“It…wasn’t my place to intrude,” Vlad starts.</p><p>“Yeah, no shit,” Daniel says, strangely subdued about the revelation.</p><p>“But I did,” Vlad presses on, “and I’m sorry.”</p><p>“For <em>what</em>?”</p><p>The question nearly blindsides him.</p><p>Daniel’s eyes are alight with fury.</p><p>“You said you’re sorry,” he says. “For <em>what</em>?”</p><p>“<em>Everything</em>!” Vlad exclaims like a man possessed. “For trying to manipulate you, for attacking you, for not seeing you were struggling and offering you help without making it an impossible decision. For not being someone you could rely on from the beginning! For learning you were just like me and making it about <em>me</em>! It was <em>wrong</em>, Daniel, and I’m sorry it took watching Maddie make you feel terrible to realize it!"</p><p>Now that he's started, he can't seem to stop the words from tumbling out:</p><p>"I wish I had been an adult you could trust instead of another one that makes your life harder! I wish you could have confided in me that your home life was difficult, rather than finding out through eavesdropping! Do you understand that I want to take it all back, but I <em>can’t</em>, and I don’t know <em>how</em> I can possibly make things right? Do you <em>know</em> how wholly I failed you? For twenty years, I waited for something like you, and when I stumble upon you, all I can think of is revenge! I’m sorry for it, Daniel. You’re a brilliant, wonderful child, and you didn’t deserve <em>me</em>, and I’m sorry that's precisely what I gave you.”</p><p>Vlad stops—he thinks he could go on forever, but Daniel looks like he wants to say something, so he falls silent.</p><p>“You done?” Daniel asks.</p><p>Vlad nods. Now that he’s fallen silent, he doesn’t know how to start again.</p><p>“Good,” Daniel says easily.</p><p>Vlad will say it again: Daniel’s gotten faster. He doesn’t have time to dodge out of the way of the fist that strikes him square in the jaw, and he falls square on his ass from the force of it. Vlad braces for another blow, eager to get it over with so he can go back to Wisconsin and maybe scrub the last few months from his brain, but it doesn’t come.</p><p>Daniel stands up straight and rubs at his hand, looking…Vlad can’t help but think he should look angrier than he does.</p><p>“Just so you know, I <em>heard</em> you the night you came to my house, you jerk,” he says.</p><p>Vlad freezes.</p><p>“I was mad when I realized you had overheard that fight,” Daniel says. “Right when my mom asked when…when the kid she loved was coming back, I heard you. I was gonna go up to my room and wait for her to go to bed so I could beat the shit out of you. But then I heard you again. And… I dunno. At first, I thought you were just upset at finding out my mom wasn't perfect, but after that…you kept on being…kinda nice? In your weird Plasmiusy way, obviously…I thought you were trying to distract me from some kind of plan, but then, you kept being nice, and I thought…maybe you meant it? The whole truce thing?”</p><p>“I did,” Vlad manages to choke out. “I still do.”</p><p>Daniel nods. “Yeah, give me a little credit, Vlad; I figured <em>that</em> out a while ago. Then, I found this list, and I thought…I thought two things. Either you were messing with me, or… you weren’t. And honestly, after all that…I don’t think you’re plotting anything, I really don’t. Except…it’s not just a truce. Or, that’s not <em>all</em> you want, is it?”</p><p>“Daniel, if it’s too mu—”</p><p>“—I’ll do it.”</p><p>Vlad doesn’t know how to respond.</p><p>“What do you think you’re agreeing to?” he asks, because there’s no way that Daniel would let bygones be bygones and just <em>allow</em> Vlad waltz into a position of trust like he had done something to earn it yet, especially if—</p><p>“You want to be my mentor? Without all of the weird stuff you asked for before?”</p><p>“Yes, but Daniel, I really—”</p><p>“—Then I accept,” Daniel says simply. “If you decide to change your mind, don’t be surprised if I change mine. But…you weren’t wrong when you said you could teach me. You’ve <em>been </em>teaching me, and it’s helped a lot. I’ve never gotten all A’s before. My parents told me they were proud of how hard I’ve been working. You were just an asshole about it the first time around.”</p><p>Vlad chuckles weakly. He hadn’t ever planned this far and he had no idea what he wanted to say. Finally, he settles on, “I suppose that rings true.”</p><p>Daniel nods, satisfied. Vlad floats to his feet, intent on turning and flying back to Amity Park before Daniel can see the no doubt embarrassing look on his face.</p><p>“Vlad?”</p><p>“Yes?” he asks, stopping short. He faces Daniel again, and whatever Daniel sees, it brings a lopsided grin to his face.</p><p>Daniel looks off to the side. “It’s…it’s not bad that you think of me like a son, y’know?”</p><p>The sentiment leaves Vlad reeling.</p><p>“You…don’t mind?” he asks. Daniel…had <em>always</em> minded before.</p><p>Daniel shrugs. Vlad’s spent enough time around him to know it’s not a brush off…sometimes, Daniel just doesn’t know what else to do when he wants to say something.</p><p>“I don’t mind,” he affirms. “It’s actually been nice having you around. Feels like things are sorta…better, now? Don’t tell anyone I said that, though.”</p><p>Vlad chuckles despite himself.</p><p>“I wouldn’t dream of it Daniel,” he says. “Now… I believe you mentioned something about clones?”</p><p>Daniel gives him a wide grin.</p><p>“Clones,” he agrees. </p><p>Vlad can't help but match the grin with one of his own.</p><p>They take off in a race, shooting ectoblasts to try to slow each other down. As Vlad dodges them, shouting overdramatic threats at his new protégé while firing right back at him, Vlad notices something that makes him pause for so long with giddy disbelief he nearly gets blasted right in the face:</p><p>Daniel’s smile is wide and his laugh is infectious. He looks calm, and there are no unexplained bruises or bags under his eyes. He’s put on a healthy bit of weight, and he carries himself with confidence.</p><p>And when he shoots, his aim is perfect.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thanks for reading! If you liked it, please leave me a comment down below! Thanks once again to Solsock for giving me such a fun prompt for the 2020 Holiday Truce!</p>
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